


Please, Listen to Your Followers

by LighthouseFeminism



Category: The Bold Type
Genre: Adena is Already Famous, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, F/F, Kat is already out as Bi, NSFW, Social Media, Social Media AU, it takes a bit to get to the smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-02-28 01:09:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13260423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LighthouseFeminism/pseuds/LighthouseFeminism
Summary: Starting where 1x01 did, but this time Adena is a recently ascended world-renown artist/photographer. Magazines are competing for the chance to do a cover story of Adena, and Scarlet was just notified they have been dropped from the running.Kat Edison has other ideas.(10/11 chapter end estimate)





	1. The Incredible Ms. El-Amin

**Author's Note:**

> This is the longest fic I've written yet, and I intend to keep going with it. Hope you enjoy!  
> Edit: Fixed a bunch of tense issues, hope that didn't hurt anyone's reading. I accidentally uploaded a non-tense-fixed version, and I'll not do that in the future.  
>  
> 
> The title (and premise) is inspired by Anamatic's "Lord, Save Me from Your Followers". Check it out if you like this one, it's a Supercorp fic.  
> To be clear, this isn't a copy, I just liked the idea.

It took Kat almost ten minutes in the waiting room to realize that she was bouncing her leg in anticipation. Kat had been told it would likely be half an hour before Ms. El-Amin would be able to take a break in her work to see her and, foolishly, she’d said she would wait. For the second time since she was left alone, she considered telling someone that she’d come back later and for the second time she realized that there was no one in the room she could tell that. When she entered minute twenty she realized that Jane and Sutton were probably right; this was a terrible idea.

 

* * *

 Earlier that day

 Jane and Sutton pulled Kat into the closet by both arms, their mouths agape. They sat her down on one of the cushions and, while Sutton shut the door and made sure no one saw them enter, Jane started tearing apart her horrible idea.

"This photographer  _just_ told Jacqueline that she is going with another magazine to cover her art, and you want to go talk to her, in person, on your own, and try to... what, convince her otherwise?"

Kat rolled her eyes at the comment. She knew that Jane was just worried for her, but it could get overbearing sometimes.

"I'm just going to meet with her! I'm not going to push, I only want to try talking one on one, and if she still doesn't want to I'd like to know why."

"What do you mean you are just going to  _talk_  to her? She's a world-famous artist! She's been on the cover of Time magazine! What makes you think she'll even have the time?"

Kat put a finger up to correct her. "Actually she was one of six people on that cover. 'The Next Generation in Art' "

"You're really not helping your case here babe." Sutton said over her shoulder as she closed the door carefully and walked over to the two. Jane nodded and pointed at Sutton.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet Tiny Jane. I don't think it's a  _bad_ idea, it just sounds like a waste of time. She seems too important to talk to us underling types."

Kat sighed, and pointed at Sutton. "Thank you."

Jane looked confused at the two of them, her mouth open.

"Not a bad idea? What if this all goes wrong? What if this photographer gets mad and decides to take it out on the magazine? Kat could get fired!" Jane said it like she was angry but Kat knew she was just concerned. With a sigh, Kat tried calming her down.

"Listen, you said it yourself. If she is too busy for me she won't even let me in the door. If she gives me a chance to talk, I think I could convince her. No one finds out if I don't, everyone finds out if I do, doesn't that sound like a win-win?"

The two looked at Kat for a moment before turning towards each other.

"I want to be as confident as her. How did she get to be so confident?" Sutton said to Jane in mock-shock, as if Kat wasn't there.

"She was actually  _overpraised_ as a child."

Kat rolled her eyes. "Oh ha-ha.

  

* * *

 Present

 Kat was starting to wonder if she actually was overpraised as a child when the door into the studio opened and she was pulled from her thoughts. Firuze, the woman she spoke to when she first arrived, stepped through and motioned inside. Kat grabbed her bag and hurried through the door, determined to make a good impression.

The studio is huge and packed at the same time. One wall was a simple beige color covered in graffiti of all kinds, but at the corners she could see the concrete in other colors - past canvases and past works. The floor to her right was filled entirely with a chalk mosaic, but Kat didn't have the time to get lost in the colors as she was led to a grand window on the far side of the room. In front of it sat Adena El-Amin in front of a gigantic canvas, four feet tall and ten feet wide. The painting looked to be of the sunset skyline outside the window, but it looked to only be about a third completed. As Firuze led Kat to her, she dropped her brush into a tin can beside her and moved back to admire the work. Without turning around, Adena spoke to Kat.

"I do apologize for the wait, Ms. Edison. There are only so many opportunities to paint a sunset such as this." Adena turned to face her, and maybe it was the nerves, maybe it was the sunset behind her, but all Kat could think about was how beautiful she was in that moment - traces of paint on her cheeks and her shirt. "I hear you are from Scarlet. I have to admit I was surprised someone would be so daring to come directly to me about being dropped from the running." Adena grabbed a towel from the back of her chair and began to wipe off her hands. She raised an eyebrow at Kat, who had still said nothing. "That is what you are here for, correct?"

Kat blinked and shook her head to get back on track, all her practiced arguments came back to her. "Yes, actually, I did want to talk to you about that. I was wondering what made you decide to drop us from the running?"

The corner of Adena's mouth curled up and she began walking through her studio, leaving Kat to start walking behind her as she spoke.

"Well, to put it bluntly, I didn't think you were feminist enough." Before Kat could get a word in, Adena continued, "Now, I broached this issue with your editor, Jacqueline, and she described to me the concept of 'stealth feminism', but I don't think it's the kind of approach I want to take."

Kat's jaw dropped. Adena just casually tossed out Kat's main argument in front of her as if it was nothing. The artist grabbed a pair of chairs from one of the walls and brought them to the chalk art and looked over to her, patting the chair next to her. Kat gave a polite smile and sat down as she tried to think of another way to convince the artist, but the chalk in front of her caught her eye and derailed her thoughts.

The work was massive and incredibly detailed, a loose spiral of images. It was clear that it had been worked on for a very long time, with the outermost image still unfinished. At the center was Adena - smiling, eyes closed and arms crossed, silhouetted by a golden background. The next image, to the right, was of a child in a woman's arms, the child wrapped in the same gold that surrounded Adena. Above the first image, a toddler in an oversized gold shirt is being shown how to walk by a man with a great, bearded smile. To the left of the center image, a young girl in a radiant yellow hijab is drawn dancing with a teenage girl in a light blue one. Bellow the original image, Adena stood facing nothing, her partially-finished hand cupping the outline of a featureless face. 

"I take that you like it?" Adena broke Kat out of her daze and made her blink. She was looking at Kat with a glint in her eyes and an amused smile.

"Yeah, it's... it's beautiful." Kat couldn't quite find the words to describe the way she felt about it. It's scale and detail were breathtaking, and that wasn't mentioning the themes.

"What do you see in it?" 

Kat was taken aback by the question, but she looked back to the drawing.

"It's... It's you. At different times in your life." Kat smiled a little at Adena, sure she'd given the answer the woman wanted to hear.

Adena gave a muted smile and looked at her work.

"Is that all that you see?"

Kat frowned and looked back at the images, trying to find some detail that she missed but she couldn't find anything else that Adena might have been referring to. Kat opened her mouth to say as much until an idea struck her. Kat stood up and moved her chair further back before sitting back down. Adena looked at her, an eyebrow raised in expectation. And then it hit her like a truck.

"It's love." 

Adena smiled at Kat's answer, a full smile that closed her eyes. Encouraged by her reaction, Kat continued, pulling her chair back beside the artist. "Self-love, Maternal and Paternal love, Sisterly love, and..." Kat sighed as she looked at the last, unfinished section. "Romantic love."

"You'd be surprised how many art collectors and artists overthink this work." Adena said, the smile still on her face. It was then that Kat had an idea, and she started talking before she even really knew what she was saying.

"Honestly? That's why I think it would be good in Scarlet." Kat waited to see Adena's reaction before finishing her thought. When Adena looked at her, genuinely curious, she continued. "I mean, don't get me wrong, all these other magazines are incredible and you'd do awesome with any of them but... Don't they feel a little old?" 

Adena gave a short laugh, and Kat took it as a good sign.

"I mean, they have a good influence but the people I hear talking about TIME articles most are old white dudes who complain about 'Millenials' killing the diamond industry and Applebee's. Scarlet is read overwhelmingly by women and mostly by girls between thirteen and twenty-one." Kat thought back to Jane, who used to read Scarlet weekly when she was younger. "Jacqueline may have told you that our goal was 'Stealth Feminism', but I think a good friend of mine said it best when she called Scarlet 'an older sister she always wished she had'."

By now, Adena's face had grown more somber, her eyes gazing over her chalk portrait. She was silent for a long time. Kat finished her argument quietly, not wanting to seem forceful or upset. 

"I don't say this because 'it's your duty' or because you owe anyone anything, I just... I think a lot of girls out there could use an older sister like you." Kat looked over to the picture of Adena and her older sister. Their glee was palpable from even a few feet away. When Kat turned back to Adena, she was staring at Kat like she was trying to read her. When she finally spoke, she does so with a laugh.

"Are you always like this?"

Internally, Kat was screaming that she had made such an impression on the artist. She could barely contain herself as she grinned from ear to ear and shrugged.

"Most of the time." 

"Well, Scarlet is quite lucky to have you." Adena twisted her chair to face Kat and she crossed her legs. "All right. I'll give Scarlet another chance. How about a tour. Does the tenth work?"

Kat could feel the excitement affecting her voice, but at this point, she didn't care enough to try regulating it. She had given Scarlet a second chance. She was going to rub this in Jane and Sutton's face when she got home.

"Yes! I'll let everyone know. I'm sure Jacqueline will show you all the best parts of the magazine, we should have some new-"

Adena put a hand up to cut her off. 

"If I'm agreeing to a tour,  _you_  are going to be leading it. Not your Editor, not any of the Executives. You."

Kat's Jaw dropped and her heart leapt to her throat. A million of worries clouded her mind at once, the most prominent of which: why Kat? She had nowhere near the experience Jacqueline did, she didn't have the experience with the company like any of the people who normally led tours. Out of the chaos of her mind she managed to ask, 

"Me?"

"You. Jacqueline did not come out to my studio at dusk to have a personal talk with me. Your executives did not convince me to reconsider, you did. Katherine Edison earned this second chance, not them."

Kat couldn't argue with that. Her anxieties were still eating at her, but the way Adena spoke of her made her feel incredible. This woman seemed to really trust her. Confused, and scared, and excited, Kat wasn't sure what to say, so she said the only thing she could think of.

"Sounds great! I'll give you my number so we can work out the details."

If this went south, she was  _so_  going to get fired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think! Comment below if you can.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @lighthousefeminism


	2. Tour Guide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat gives Adena a tour of the Scarlet offices and the two grow closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! good to be back. Still don't have a Beta Reader, so this will have a few mistakes I'm sure, but I'll work them out throughout today and tomorrow.
> 
>  
> 
> Check the end note after reading to see the interactive section I'll be doing next chapter! It's gonna be great.

“This is incredible Kat, I’m so glad that you went out on your own with this.”

If Kat was being totally honest, that wasn’t quite what she’d expected to hear when she walked in this morning, set on talking to Jacqueline about the tour she had agreed to without asking permission. Kat had gotten Jane and Sutton to hype her up for the discussion and everything. She wasn’t ungrateful, but she couldn’t say she understood it.

“Is that it?” Kat said, half expecting the other shoe to drop at any moment. Jacqueline looked confused.

“Well, we have to get you ready to give the tour, but for now yes. Did you want there to be something else?”

“I’m sorry, I guess I was just expecting you to be mad at me…” Kat looked down at her lap before making eye contact again.

“Well, I am upset that you didn’t come to me beforehand to let me know.” Jacqueline frowned, and Kat got ready for reprimanding, but it never came. Instead, “I think that was my own fault, though. I’d hoped that my demeanor would suggest that you could come to me with something like this but, evidently, I should have made that more clear. And for that I’m sorry.” 

Kat smiled at the reassurance but found herself still worrying about the rest of the executives.

“What about the board? I can’t imagine they’ll be happy about this...”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, I’ll handle them.” Jacqueline stood from her chair and walked over to the window, gazing out on the city below. “While I’m sure you’ve guessed it by now, I can confirm for you that their primary goal is always to make money. They were never interested in what an article on a woman like Ms. El-Amin could mean to people and I think she could tell.”

It was disheartening to hear that the board truly didn’t care about the magazine beyond its profits, but Kat found a new sort of hope in hearing Jacqueline acknowledge the issue. Slowly, she rose from her chair and joined the older woman by the window. Jacqueline continued,

“Throughout my career, I’ve never been good with a personal touch, my work ethic was what got me through. To be frank, it’s how I got this position.” Jacqueline looked over at Kat with a small smile, “I’m glad to see that the next generation seems to be familiar with both.” 

Kat grins and stares out the window, even as Jacqueline turns and sits back down at her desk. “Now, we need to get you ready for that tour. Go talk to Alex and he’ll get you up to speed on the interviews we’re working on for the next issue. Come see me when you’re done and I’ll run you through our advice section.” 

 

 

* * *

  
  


It took about four days of meeting with department heads, talking with lead writers, and giving pretend tours, but Kat could confidently say she knew what she needed to know. They were interviewing women in fashion and makeup in an attempt to paint the work in a less misogynistic light, and Kat knew all the interviewers’ names and their stations. She knew all the articles from the last two issues and she knew a couple of the strongest pitches for the next issue. She knew the exact order of things she was going to cover in the tour. Of course, Kat expected that all of that would go out the window almost as soon as Adena exited the elevator. She had done nothing but prove herself a force of will.

Kat was notified the moment she entered the building so that she could psyche herself up for the tour but it wasn’t nearly enough time. Adena walked through the elevator doors and Kat suddenly remembered how energizing it felt to be next to the artist. She exuded a power that frightened and excited Kat and last time it filled her with a need to impress her, but today it caught her breath in her throat and made her blush. Adena was wearing a casual outfit, but she managed to pull off of so completely that it was a wonder she wasn’t a model on top of all her other many skills. 

“Ms. Edison! It’s wonderful to see you again.” Adena greeted her with a smile and ripped Kat from her thoughts. Adena leaned in and kissed either side of her cheeks, and Kat had to clear her throat in order to speak.

“It’s good to see you too! And please, call me Kat.”

Adena tilted her head as she looked at Kat, and suddenly she was worried that she had overstepped, that she had messed up her tour before she even started. 

“Alright,  _ Kat _ . What do you have for me.” The way Adena said it, almost in a purr, made Kat’s legs feel like jelly and Kat wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond to that, so she just started to walk backward into the offices and started the speech she had worked on for the last three days. Adena crossed her arms and followed, listening intently. Kat could see Sutton and Jane watching her with their eyebrows raised, but she ignored them to focus on convincing Adena. 

 

“And, that’s about all that we have for our next issue. It’s in the early stages, but I think it’s looking good.” Kat finished with a smile. The tour went better than she’d expected; Adena had  _ a lot _ of questions that Kat was unprepared for but she managed to salvage an answer for most of them. Adena frowns but raises her eyebrows.

“I will admit, this was far more interesting than the briefing I received over the conference call. I see what you meant by...” Adena slows her speech to a stop, her gaze falling over Kat’s shoulder. Kat turned and looked around, trying to see what the artist seemed so fixated on. And then she saw it, and a blush formed on her cheeks. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing them out in the open like that. No matter how much time I spend in America.” 

At one of the outer conference rooms, a group of women sat talking around a table, sex toys in front of them. Kat had been hoping that she’d be able to avoid the topic, but she was prepared just in case.

“Oh, that’s our… sometimes we get a bunch of free toys from different brands to run ads.” Kat stumbled, trying to find a way to explain it without sounding inappropriate or forward. In the end, she went with the truth. “We have a semi-regular column where we get women to talk about some of the toys and their honest thoughts. The companies get reviews and we help fight the stigma of female masturbation. So…” 

Adena didn’t stop looking, but a mischievous smile grew on her lips. She looked up at Kat and smiled. 

“Kat Edison, you have just given me the most wonderful idea...” 

Adena stood up on the tips of her toes and brought her mouth to Kat’s ear and whispered her idea. Kat could feel the artist’s breath on her ear and Kat had to close her eyes to focus on what she was saying, but that only made her cheeks even redder. Kat let out a heavy sigh and finally opened her eyes as Adena sunk away from her ear.

“So. What do you think?” Adena raised an eyebrow, still wearing her grin. Kat bit her lower lip and nodded, regaining her composure.

“Yeah, I think I could do that. What about-” Kat started to ask about the interview, but Adena cuts her off.

“Wonderful, I’ll see you there.” Suddenly the electronic bell chimes and Adena is in the elevator before Kat can ask again. “I’m sorry Kat I have to go, I have another meeting in half an hour. We’ll talk tonight, I promise.”

Kat forced a smile and waved at the woman as the doors closed and she was left alone in front of the elevator doors, watching the number roll down. Or at least she thought she was alone. 

“So uh… are we going to talk about that whispering at all or are we gonna just ignore that.” 

“Yeah, I mean did you see the way Kat looked at her when she was speaking you about articles or whatever?”

“Oh yeah. That was a little more than friendly.”

“Very funny guys.” Kat turned around to glare at Jane and Sutton as they leaned back against the vacant receptionist’s desk. Jane’s jaw dropped and she looked at Kat in disbelief.

“Oh no, I’m not being funny. You quite clearly have a crush on one Ms. Adena El-Amin.”

“Same,” Sutton chimed in, standing up straight, “Plus you’re blushing way too much to try hiding it.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, but I have to go talk to Jacqueline.” Kat failed to hide her smile as she blatantly deflected their comments and made her way out of the entrance and headed to Jacqueline’s office in the back.

“Yeah, you better run!”

“We are talking about this when we get home missie!”

Kat really loved her friends.

 

Kat cleared her throat before knocking on Jacqueline’s door. She really needed to psyche herself up for this, even though she knew the answer to her question already. She wasn’t going to be able to look Jacqueline in the eyes for a week.

“Come in Kat! How was the tour, do we have news?”

Kat swallowed.

“Yeah, it went great. Hey, uh… Ms. El-Amin wants to know if she could take some of the spare sex toys we have?”

 

* * *

  
  
  


Kat was supposed to be at a party right now. Jane and Sutton were no doubt having all kinds of fun getting drunk and dancing like idiots. Meanwhile, she was packing dildos into luggage.

Kat didn’t mind so much. There were worse things she could be doing than spending personal time with a famous artist who happened to be one of the most interesting women she’d ever met. 

“Thank you for helping me with this Kat.” Adena said, as they began packing the last couple toys into the suitcase, “My manager, while well-meaning, would never allow me to take a risk like this.”

“Of course. If you ever need help packing sex toys again I’m your girl.” Kat said with a smile. Adena laughed at the comment and she zipped up her bag, setting it to the side as she grabbed the unfinished takeout they’d ordered. Kat put the last toy in the second bag and closed it before grabbing her own food. “So what made you want to do something like this? I couldn’t be your sole muse.”

“Well… I used to do things like this all the time actually,” Adena explained, “I would bring things from the countries I visited my friends back home. Never anything big, I didn’t have that kind of money, but something funny or something as a little act of rebellion.” Adena looked at the bag beside Kat, but it was clear she was thinking. She smiled and looked up at Kat. “Honestly, it has been a while since I did something like this. I’ve been so caught up in my art for the last few years that I haven’t had the time.”

Kat smiled at the floor.

“Well, it sounds like it means a lot to you. I’m happy that I could be a part of that.”

When Adena didn’t respond, Kat looked up to see that she was staring at her, eyes scanning her for something. Kat opened her mouth to say something, but she stopped herself. In the silence, she noticed just how beautiful Adena looked in the moment. Illuminated by soft candlelight that cast her in a flickering golden light, just like in her chalk image. Kat’s heart raced as she imagined herself filling the spot in the last picture, their foreheads touching as Adena caressed her face. Kat caught herself looking down to Adena’s lips and…

 

**_DINGDINGDING…     DINGDINGDING…_ **

 

Kat closed her mouth and looked away for a moment, biting her lip to stop herself from swearing out loud. Adena gives a little smile and looks down at her food.

“I’m so sorry,” Kat said, looking down to see it was Sutton calling her, “I have to take this. One sec.”

“Of course,” Adena assured as she rose to place the rest of the food in her fridge. Kat took her phone to one of the windows and stared out at the city as she answered.

“Sutton?”

“Hey! Kat! How’s it going, you get lucky yet?” Sutton was clearly pretty drunk but she didn’t sound harried, which was a good sign.

“No, no thanks to you. What’s up babe, why did you call?”

“Ooo, strikeout. We’ll talk about that tomorrow, but right now Jane thinks she gonna throw up and she needs someone to hold her hair back and help her.”

“Why can’t you do that, aren’t you with her?”

“Yes, well. I myself am not the model of sobriety at the moment, so I think we should probably get someone who  _ isn’t  _ drunk to help us out here.  _ Please? _ ”

Kat rolled her eyes but relented. She was sure that Sutton would be able to take care of Jane, even while drunk, but it wasn’t a bad idea to be extra safe.

“Alright, do your best. I’ll be over soon.” Kat ended the call, but not before she heard Sutton cheering into her phone. She walked back to Adena and sighed. “Sorry, that was my friend. She needs help at home so I gotta go.”

Adena smiled and looked down at the countertop.

“No, of course. No need to apologize for being a good friend. I didn’t mean to keep you this late anyway. Thank you for all your help.”

Kat nodded and smiled.

“Totally. Hope you have a good night.” Kat grabbed her bag and her takeout and walked out the door, but before she could close it behind her she heard Adena call after her.

“Kat?” Adena stood just inside the doorway, opening it so that they could see each other better. “My manager will no doubt want me to pick a magazine with more circulation to put my latest art in, but… I’d love to do a personal interview with Scarlet.”

Kat beamed. Honestly, she had completely forgotten about the article. 

 

* * *

  
  


Her smile lasted from the moment Adena said the words to about when she heard Jane retching in the bathroom. Quickly, she tossed her bag on the couch and ran to her friend.

Helping Jane and wrangling Sutton turned out to quite a hassle. By the time she finished she just threw her phone on a charger and plopped onto the fold-out couch. She was asleep before the notifications started lighting up her phone.

 

_ 12:45am - real_elamin has followed you! _

_ 1:01am - zebrine has followed you! _

_ 1:12am - no-hetero has followed you! _

_ 1:19am - 5 accounts have followed you! _

_ 1:20am - zebrine has commented on your photo: who is she, i don… _

_ 1:21am - wordsmyth has commented on your photo: she is so pretty … _

_ 1:21am - 9 accounts have followed you! _

_ 1:22am - 10+ accounts have followed you! _

_ 1:22am - 10+ comments on your photo _

_... _

_ Unlock for more _

_ … _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Here comes that social media part. Sorry if anyone's name appeared at the end, I randomly generated a bunch. lmk if you want me to change it.
> 
> On another note, the next chapter will have LOTS of social media in it, so if anyone wants their name to appear as one of Adena's fans who ships her with this new Kat girl then leave a comment below w/ your username (or a fake one if you'd prefer). If you want to write what you'd comment specifically, feel free to add that as well (I might not do comments, but if there are any good ones I'll throw it in.
> 
> As always, find me on tumblr @lighthousefeminism or on twitter @yourlocalbard


	3. Mystery Woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adena's adoring fans notice that she's followed someone new - a rare occurrence for a woman who only followed eight people. They figure that something is going on between the two...
> 
> Kat wakes up to discover herself with a few thousand more followers than before. One of them being the woman she has a massive crush on. 
> 
> This is spiraling out of control very quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, finally back after my weird adjusting-to-school hiatus. Updates should come a little more regularly now, but It'll still probably be a week or so before I can update further.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
> (Thanks to t97carolina for beta'ing my characterization for this one, it's been a while since I've been with these characters!)

The sunlight that filtered in through the blinds would have been beautiful, Kat decided, if it hadn’t woke her up before nine. With a groan Kat rolled off the couch, taking the sheet with her as she stumbled her way to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Jane and Sutton’s apartment didn’t have much but it did have a functioning coffee maker, and Kat was determined to take advantage as payment for last night. With the water boiling, Kat shuffled back to the couch she'd slept on and plucked her phone off its charger with clumsy fingers before wandering back to the kitchen.

Her phone was alight with notifications, all at their maximum. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence — she was the social media director of a women’s magazine after all, and people loved to voice their opinions. Usually, though, it only happened after a good social media day and Kat had spent most of yesterday helping Adena. With a frown, Kat opened up Twitter and went through her notifications as she got down a mug and started pouring her coffee. She h-

Wow, that was a lot of followers.

Her follower count had almost doubled, which was impressive because Kat was already pretty popular. Just under fifty-thousand followers now. She scrolled further down to see an endless list of strangers retweeting and liking her posts. Eager to see where it all started, Kat scrolled all the way down until she saw the one notification at the bottom.

_@realelamin has followed you!_

“Woah…” Kat said, under her breath. She hadn’t retweeted anything, but she had liked a couple of her posts. Kat didn't realize she'd overpoured her coffee until she felt the burning hot liquid drip off the counter onto her foot.

“Ah! Shit!” Kat yelled, a little louder than she intended, and she put the pot back in its place and ran to get towels.

Kat heard a _thump_ and some scrambling from across the living room before Jane burst out from her door, her unruly mess of hair covering her face. Kat had to stifle a laugh.

“What happened?! Are you alright?!” Jane said, breathless.

“Adena followed me on twitter! She only follows like eight people and one is her manager!” Another drop of coffee singed her foot and Kat had to bite her tongue to keep herself from crying out again. “Oh, I spilled some coffee too.” Kat wiped the countertop with a spare rag, but she was more focused on her phone, the notification still lighting up her screen. She nearly lept out of her skin when Jane sidled up to her and took the phone from her hand to look herself. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped as she tried to find something to say.

“What… how did… She was in TIME!”

“Yeah Tiny Jane, you’ve told me that like five times now and yet here we are.”

“What are you guys yelling about?” Sutton said from her doorway, eyes closed and rubbing her temples.

“Kat just got one of the greatest artists of our generation to follow her on Twitter,” Jane said in disbelief, passing Kat’s phone to Sutton.

“And Instagram...” Kat added on, barely containing the smile on her lips as Jane glared at her. Sutton rubbed her eyes and looked at it for a few seconds before she shrugged and gave the phone back to Kat.

“That’s great babe. How’d you do it, did you seduce her with your expert social media skills?” Sutton said, not even looking at Kat as she walked around the spill and poured the rest of the coffee into a mug of her own. Kat wiped the last of the mess off the floor and sighed, trying to think of anything out of the ordinary she might have missed.

“No! We just packed vibrators in her luggage and had takeout…”

Sutton almost choked on her coffee, and had to clear her throat before she spoke.

“Okay, well, we’re gonna come back to that in a bit because _oh my god_ , but it must have gone pretty well, right? You said she only follows like eight people right?”

“Well, nine now…”

“Brag about it...” Sutton murmured with a little smile into her cup. Kat ignored her and continued.

“But we mostly just talked general stuff. She talked about her art and her friends and I talked about you two and work. Then she said she was gonna give Scarlet an interview and now this?”

Jane slapped Kat’s arm, eyes wide.

“You got us the interview?!”

“Okay,” Sutton said, placing the cup on the counter after almost choking for the second time in as many minutes, “It sounds like you have a lot to unpack here so why don’t you start from the beginning.”

 

* * *

 

It took a while for Kat to catch the girls up on everything Adena, so they decided to make breakfast while they talked. Sutton and Jane were still hungover, of course, so they didn’t help much but Kat was glad to do most of the work - it kept her focused, kept her from trying to look at all the new comments and followers she had.

Jane and Sutton lounged around the living room while she cooked, listening and interjecting the occasional comment like “She just _asked_ you for sextoys from your workplace?” and “You guys ate takeout alone by candlelight? _God_ that’s so romantic.” When they finished eating, Kat took a spot on the couch and let the girls clean up.

“So what now?” Jane asked, scrubbing her plate in the sink.

“I dunno,” Kat said, “I don’t even know what they want from me. I’ve got like a thousand more followers since this morning.”

“That’s still so weird to me. You’re like C-list celebrity famous now.” Sutton said, crouching down and putting a pan away. “ Promise me you won’t forget us in your newfound stardom.”

Kat smiled as she scrolled through the comments on some of her more recent photos.

“No promises, I think I can feel the fame getting to my head already. @no-hetero says that I’m gorgeous and she’s gay for me, so...” Kat said, pretending to sound snooty as she read. Sutton snorted as she scrubbed another plate. “Hey, if it makes you feel any better they say they’re gay for you too.”

“Aw, really?” Sutton said, looking genuinely touched.

“Should we tell them you’re straight?”

“And break their hearts?” Sutton says in mock shock. “No, I’ll just have to take one for the team and let them tell me how beautiful I am.”

The comments were _mostly_ nice. There were a few hate-follows that Kat had to block to clean up her comments but most of them were casual, like they’d been following her for years. Some people bombarded her with questions, the most common of which being if Kat and Adena were dating, or if she knew someone named Coco.  

Unsure how to answer, Kat just posted a picture with Sutton and Jane and the caption “ _helping these two get over their hangovers. #momfriend”_. Within a few minutes, there was almost a hundred likes and a couple dozen comments.

@wordsmyth: aesthetic

@zebrine: @treebranchy us”

@kittycarousel: lmao I'm so glad adena followed you

“Earth to Kat.”

Kat suddenly snapped up from her phone, looking to Sutton and Jane who had finished cleaning up from breakfast. “We said we’re going for a jog. Think you can step down from your ivory tower to join us?”

“Ugh, really?” Kat said, throwing her head back on the armrest. "Aren't you guys still hungover, how do you want to run right now?"

"I am actually,” Sutton said, completely straight-faced, “my head is actively trying to kill me. But we said we were gonna keep on the fitness wagon this year, so we can't just skip a day now."

Kat groaned, but got up from the couch and went to change out of her pajamas.

"Oh come on you big baby, we'll walk our route and drink lots of water. It'll be good for you."

 

* * *

 

Kat’s follower count didn’t stop going up all day. It was a strange experience, watching these people discover her and then proceed to go through her whole timeline and like nearly everything she had posted in the last year. Her selfies were flooded with positive affirmations and people saying how gay they were, while her rants on inequality and feminism found a new wave of support and circulation. The most dedicated of commenters had taken to calling her “mom”, which Kat thought was funny. Her shrink parents would have a field day with that.

Kat had tried her best to take it all in stride, but when the first celebrity followed her just after lunch, she sort of lost her cool.

“What do you mean Ellen followed you, Ellen who?” Jane asked, taking a bite out her salad as they sat around the cafe table. Kat tapped the notification and showed her the _follows you_ beside her name.

“ _The_ Ellen.” Kat replied in disbelief. Jane took the phone and looked closer, Sutton leaning over her shoulder to get a better look. “You know, you don’t have to take my phone every time I show you something, right?”

“Did she say something? Did Ellen tweet at you?!” Sutton asked, pretending to be upset at the revelation. Jane just stared at the phone like it was gonna disappear at any moment.

“I don’t know,” Kat said, glaring at the two, “because _someone_ took my phone as soon as I found out.”

“Sorry.” Sutton said, handing the phone back.

Ellen hadn't said anything, and the only post she'd liked was Kat’s coming out thread from a little over a year ago. She did, however, follow Adena just like all the others. The two tweeted back and forth a couple times, though it looked mostly like publicity posting, which Kat was quite familiar with. Adena did a bit on Ellen's show once a few months back where she had to do a portrait of Ellen in only a minute, except Ellen had some stagehands throwing small brushes at her and blasting air horns.

A few other celebrities followed her throughout the day, mostly minor actresses and artists, but it was still a little overwhelming. Nearly all of them had direct connections to Adena somehow, and half of them were the other accounts Adena followed. It was like Kat had joined a secret club, except she didn’t know any of the members or what she was supposed to do.

“So why don’t you just ask her about it?” Sutton suggested as she, Jane, and Kat cuddled up on the couch to watch project runway.

“How?” Kat said as she took a sip from her glass of wine. “I can’t just message her, that’s lame.”

“So? Meet in person then, go for brunch or something. You have her number right?”

“She gave it to me as part of a business arrangement, I can’t just use it for personal gain. Plus what am I gonna do, just call up a super famous artist and ask her to meet me at some café? Haven’t you heard, she was in TIME.” Kat said, elbowing Jane gently in the ribs. Jane scoffed as Sutton and Kat laughed.

“I will have you know my caution in this matter is very well founded. Just because you have some sort of superhuman charisma doesn’t mean that she isn’t impressive and unapproachable to the rest of us.” Jane said with a half-smile. Sutton’s phone pinged and she reached over to the coffee table to grab it.

“So how _do_ you plan to talk to her about it, Ms. superhuman charisma?” Sutton said as she looked to check her messages.

“Ah, see,” Kat said, setting down her glass of wine, “what I’m gonna do is hold all of these feelings inside me. And then, one day... I will die with them.”

“Ooo,” Jane said, nodding her head, “now that sounds like a plan _I_ can get behind.”

“Right?”

“Well, sorry to burst your bubble Kat, but it looks like you’ll have to put a pin in that plan.” Sutton said, face illuminated by the light of her phone. “Lauren just sent in the final guestlist for the sixtieth-anniversary gala, and guess who RSVP’d at the last minute.” Sutton turned her phone to show Kat and Jane.

“Of course Adena’s gonna be there.” Kat said, before burying her face in a pillow. “And the gala is on Monday?”

“Yup,” Sutton said, “you’ve got two days.”

Two days to figure out what she was going to say to this incredible, amazing artist who she probably had a crush on. No way that could go wrong.

“Alright,” Kat said, jolting up from the pillow, “you two are gonna need to help me.”

“Yes!” Sutton said, pumping her fist. “I’ve always wanted to be your straight wingwoman.”

“I would be glad to be the voice of reason in this unbelievably likely scenario of you making friends with _Adena El-Amin_.” Jane said, taking a sip of her wine. Kat wrapped her arms around her friend’s shoulders and pulled them close.

“I love you guys…”

“Yeah yeah yeah, we love you too.” Sutton said, leaning her head against Kat’s cheek. “Now shut up,” Sutton said as she sat up, “they’re getting to the good part.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How'd you like it?
> 
> Let me know below!
> 
>  
> 
> As always, shout at me about these gays here:  
> tumblr: @lighthousefeminism  
> twitter: @yourlocalbard


	4. Someone Worth Following

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat has some questions for Adena.
> 
> The Scarlet Gala is the perfect place to get some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That new trailer has me hyped! We're so close to season 2!
> 
> On an unrelated note, I've been waiting for this chapter forever! Adena's line (you'll know which ones) were written halfway through chapter 1!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_@Kedison: Heading out to the #scarlet50gala with these babes! And we lookin goooooooood_

They really were. Sutton was wearing a dark blue patterned dress, Jane wore a long flowing red one, and Kat was wearing a golden dress that looked like it was made of ribbons. Kat finished the tweet and sent it out as their ride pulled up outside the party. A myriad of flashing cameras lit up the enormous building, as they snapped pictures of various celebrities outside. Kat's phone started pinging before she even managed to follow Sutton and Jane out of the car.

 _@cchaney: Omg, kill me babes_  
_@ellion3: @kinoter_  
_@Adekat4lyfe: OMG are you and Adena hanging out at the gala???_  
 

With a smile Kat turned off her notification sound and stepped out of the car into the chill of the new york night. Pulling her coat tighter around herself, Kat jogged to catch up with the other two on their way inside.

The gala was enormous and incredible. Jane and Kat were sure to shower Sutton in compliments for her contributions to the party before grabbing a table on the second floor.

“Are we really just gonna sit here and wait for Adena to show up? I know I said I’d be your straight wingwoman, but I was hoping to actually  _enjoy_  the party I planned.” Sutton said, taking a sip of champagne and nodding in approval at her own choice.

“No, of course not, enjoy the party. It’s not that big a deal, just…” Kat paused, trying to find a way to sound like she was only excited a normal amount to see Adena. “If one of you  _happen_  to see her, let me know. Please?” Kat pouted.

“Ugh,” Sutton groaned, “fine. But only because you are being uncharacteristically cute about this.”

 

Adena didn’t show in the first half hour. Kat hid her disappointment by updating the Scarlet twitter account. When that didn't work, she started stealing glances at her own notifications. Her followers were going wild with speculation in the replies to her post. Some of them had even moved to the Scarlett twitter to comment on the photos of the event. Eventually Jane came over and tore Kat away from her phone and walked her around the party a bit to ‘get her mind off of it’. Halfway through a conversation with an older woman sporting gorgeous colored dreads, Sutton approached from behind and whispered in Kat’s ear.

“Second floor, east side. By the window.”

Kat replied with a quiet ‘thank you’ and made her excuse to leave the conversation and tried to make her way to the second floor. Just as Sutton said, Adena was standing by one of the windows, talking with someone she didn’t recognize. She was...

Stunning. She wore a long blue overcoat on her shoulders that reached her calves, and a maroon suit that matched her hijab. It was a perfect fit, and Adena somehow managed to make it look effortless. She finished talking with the stranger and turned back to look out the window and Kat took the opportunity to steal her way to Adena’s side.

“Adena! Hey!” Kat acted surprised, like she hadn’t been looking forward to this for the past couple days. Adena turned, and smiled when she saw who it was. “I didn’t realize you were coming.”

“Kat!” Adena stepped closer and kissed the side of her cheek. “I didn’t know myself until very recently. My manager thinks it will generate buzz for the upcoming article.” She frowned, looking down at her glass of water and shrugging. “I don’t know if you’ve heard the rumors, but it sounds like I might be choosing Scarlet for my cover story. Maybe that’s why I came”

“Ah,” Kat nodded “I did hear that. You followed some Scarlet intern on Twitter or something and now you’re in a passionate love affair for the ages.”

Adena covered her mouth and laughed, and Kat let herself relax a little. She was glad that Adena found it funny, it meant she knew that it was happening. It was something they could bond over.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for them. My fans are kind, and they’ve supported me through my whole career, but they can get… overexcited, let’s say.”

“Oh I don’t mind much. They compliment me all hours of the day and call me mom, I’m sure you get the worst of it.”

“I would say you have no idea, but I think your work makes you one of the few who do.” Adena said with a small smile. “This ‘relationship’ they’re so focused on is a nice change of pace from before. These past few months all they've been asking is if I was getting back with my ex.”

Kat frowned. She knew that it happened all the time, people loved to butt in on other’s relationships, but it felt different. Now she knew someone it was happening to.

“I’m so sorry to hear that. Was it a bad breakup?”

“Oh no,” Adena assured, putting her hand on Kat’s arm, “it was amicable, and we’re still friends. It’s just…” Adena’s mouth hung open as she tried to put her thoughts into words. “I wish that people would see that we’re just friends. For many of the fans, every interaction is romantic. Even the slightest hint of affection is proof of some  _secret desire_.” Adena sighed. "I just want to have normal relationships with my friends."

Kat could almost hear her heart crack. Of course Adena wasn’t attracted to her. She was reading into it too much, like always. She was just being another one of the annoying fans. Kat snapped herself out of it and cleared her throat. There was no reason they couldn’t still be friends.

“Well,” Kat said, drawing Adena’s attention back to her, “we could always give them something to talk about?”

Adena raised her eyebrows, a smile forming on her lips again. Kat pulled out her phone. “How about a selfie? Fan those flames just a little bit.”

“I would like nothing more.” Adena said, a full smile returning to her face.

They posed together and Kat got ready to take the picture. Adena pressed her lips to Kat’s cheek and Kat looked shocked and gestured to Adena with her thumb.

  
_@Kedison: You’ll never guess who I ran into!_

 _  
_ Kat slipped her phone back into her purse with a grin. She knew that post was going to explode in a few minutes, and she was going to love going through it the next morning.

“That should give them something to talk about for a while. They’ll probably stop wondering why you followed me now.” Kat said, chuckling a little. Adena smiled and nodded, taking a sip of her drink. Before Adena could respond, Kat blurted it out. “Why did you… Follow me that is.”

Adena tilted her head slightly, furrowing her brow like the question confused her.

“Well, I enjoyed spending time with you and I wanted to keep up with you even if our paths didn’t cross again. Is that not enough?”

“I mean it is but… You’re just, like, really famous and I only manage a couple social media accounts and it’s a little intimidating and…”

“Kat,” Adena cut her off, a twinge of sadness in her eyes, “you don’t have to compare yourself like that.  _I’d_ like to get to know you. And, as long as  _you’d_ like to get to know me,” she said, shrugging, “you don’t need to worry about what people think about it. The only thing that matters is us.”

Kat looked down and nodded quickly. “But if you would really like to know…” Adena said, almost in a whisper. Kat looked up at her sheepishly, and the artist gave her a small smile and continued.

“At the best of times I am called stubborn. Even by those who know me best,” she paused and smiled, “Especially by those that know me best. And then, out of nowhere, this stranger comes to talk to me without an appointment. She visits me at my studio, a place many friends are too afraid to even visit without an invitation. Then she defends her corporate magazine to me, after I’d decided it was not up to my standards. I'm fairly sure she didn’t know it but she didn’t stand a chance the moment she entered. So I humored her, played along, tried to let her down easy.

“And then the unthinkable happens: She convinces me. She changes my mind on one of the most important decisions of my career. I’d been thinking about that decision for months, and she makes me reconsider in a matter of minutes.”

Kat was frozen in place. She couldn’t think straight. The way Adena was looking at her was intense and soft at the same time. It was a mix of curiosity and amusement and amazement that stunned Kat more every second. Adena spoke in a whisper, but it was almost like the party had disappeared and they were all that was left. If Kat didn’t know any better she would have said it was a kind of awe.

Adena was quiet for a moment, a handful of seconds at most, before continuing, her voice ever gentle. “It is very rare to meet someone like that.” Adena said, stepping closer, just bordering on Kat's personal space. Kat finally let herself look Adena in the eye and she swore she could see stars in them. They stood utterly silent as Adena searched for something in Kat's eyes. “Now you tell me. Doesn’t that sound like someone worth following?”

Kat’s face was on fire. If the heat on her cheeks wasn’t enough to prove that she was blushing beyond belief, Adena's coy smile was a good hint. The silence between them drew on and on, and Kat felt like she was going to either explode or melt into a puddle if it went any longer. It was taking a significant amount of her willpower to keep from licking her lips or looking down at Adena’s mouth. In an effort to distract herself, Kat cleared her throat and turned away towards the party before speaking.

“Well, when you put it like that I do sound kind of awesome.” Kat said, trying to hide with an air of mock superiority. Adena’s grin broke into a smile, and she faced the same direction.

“I suppose you do.”

Kat looked to Adena to ask her about her work but Firuze interrupted them, cutting her way through the crowd. She gave a curt nod to Kat before turning to Adena, but then stopped and did a double take. Kat could see the recognition in her eyes, but Firuze didn’t say anything and faced her client.

“Adena, there are a few people who would very much like to meet you before the night is over.”

“Of course Firuze, one moment.” Adena put her hand on Firuze’s hand and turned back to Kat, closing the distance once more. “It was wonderful getting to speak with you again Kat. I’m growing rather fond of our talks”

“Yeah, totally. I am too.” A small smile formed on Kat’s lips.

“Well, if you’re interested, I’ll be showcasing some of my work at the Gladstone this weekend. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard to get you an invitation to the opening celebration. Maybe even a couple spare for those friends you’ve told me about.” Adena looked to Firuze for confirmation and the woman nodded, her gaze bouncing between the artist and Kat.

It took Kat a few seconds to shake herself out of the shock. It was an incredible honor to be invited by the artist herself. Jane was gonna freak out when Kat told her.

“Oh, yeah, of course! That would be wonderful. Send me the timing and I’ll let you know.”

“Wonderful! I’ll text you all the details tomorrow and I can answer any questions you have then.” Adena pulled Kat in for a tight hug and kissed her cheek again, bringing back the blush on Kat’s face, before she drifted back towards Firuze. “Until next time, Ms. Edison.”

Kat nodded and gave a little wave, replying when she was out of earshot “Until next time, Ms. El-Amin.”

 

Jane and Sutton descended on her almost cartoonishly fast. Adena was barely out of sight when they emerged from the crowd like velociraptors in tall grass.

“Well, how did it go?”

“Did you see the way she touched Kat’s arm? What is that, like, third base?”

“Haha, very funny guys.” Kat said before facing them. “More jokes like that and I’ll have to uninvite you to Adena’s art gallery this weekend.”

Jane’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head. Sutton’s jaw dropped and she held up a hand.

“Are you sure you didn’t bang?” Sutton said as Kat high-fived her.

“If there was any doubt before, there isn’t any now. She made it pretty clear that she wasn’t interested.” Kat sighed. Sutton and Jane looked at her, the glee in their eyes dampening. Kat continued, determined to convince them, and herself, that she didn’t mind. “Guys, it’s fine. I get to be friends with a mega-famous artist, her being romantically uninterested is not enough to diminish that high. We should be celebrating!” The girls nodded and patted Kat on the back. "Now! To the bar so we can celebrate properly."     

 

The rest of the night was spent talking about Sutton and Jane's problems. Sutton was planning to ask Lauren about a letter of recommendation and  Jane was having trouble writing an article. Kat was glad to take her turn listening and giving her advice. The girls had spent hours helping Kat with her Adena problem, it only felt right to help with their issues as well. If it helped Kat get her mind off of Adena for the rest of the night, well, that was an added bonus

 

* * *

 

Kat slept in until ten the next morning. When she woke to check her phone she found another few thousand followers and an uncountable number of interactions. She also noticed a single text

From Adena.

Kat tapped to the text first, heart picking up in speed as she opened up to see her words.

  
_Look, we’ve made the news ;) [Link]_

It was a gossip site, one that Kat recognized. The article was called  _“Romea and Juliet?”_ , a name so terrible that Kat couldn’t help but laugh. It purported to tell the story of  _“Star crossed lovers — The Artist and The Intern”_ , which, while factually incorrect, did have a sort of ring to it. They didn’t have much, it felt like someone saw how popular their picture was and felt the need to write about it. Kat switched back to her text app.

  
_I can’t believe how wrong they are… I’m a manager, not an intern!_

While she waited for a response, Kat swapped through various social media apps to remove the notifications. Her selfie with Adena was going nuts even before Adena retweeted it, even more so afterwards. A couple of famous sapphic youtubers had retweeted the photo with just the "eyes" emoji and it had suddenly become a trend. Almost every reply for over an hour included it in some way.

A couple of accounts called “El-Amin Source” and “AdeKat Content Only” had reposted the picture to instagram and started analyzing it. She’d seen the accounts before and, while they certainly tried, they didn’t have a lot of content to go on. Kat had only met Adena a little over a week ago after all. That didn't stop them from trying though. Kat's favorite was when they tried to link her coffee consumption with days that Adena went out to her neighborhood café.

Kat scrolled down, trying to find some more reaching analysis but she found something else — a picture she hadn’t seen yet.

It was from near the end of their conversation, Kat recognized the look on Adena’s face. Adena was staring up at her, a spark of something indescribable in her eyes, her gentle hand on Kat’s arm as her mouth was open mid-sentence. Kat was smiling a little, but her eyes were beaming down at Adena. The caption read;

 

 _@AdeKatOnly: If these two aren’t dating, someone should probably tell_ them _that._

 

Kat only stopped staring at the photo when a notification appeared from the top of her screen; a text from Adena. Kat blinked a few times to get herself out of her own head and opened the message.

 

_Well, I’ll be sure to correct them in the future. I cannot stand by and let them slander my dear Romea._

 

A smile cracked on Kat’s face, and another text chimed in.

 

_The Gallery is at 515 W 24th St, New York, NY 10011_

_I’ll be there at 6:30 when the event opens, but you’re welcome to stop by at any point. The front desk should have your name on the list with two guest spots._

_I hope that I’ll see you there_.

 

Kat stared at the text with a sigh. She dropped her phone on her bed and let herself fall back on her pillow. Kat still wasn’t clear on how her relationship with Adena functioned, but she knew she wanted more of it. No matter what form that took. She would gladly sit through a thousand art galleries that went over her head for the opportunity to talk more with the Adena. Even if she wasn't interested the way Kat was.

 

Sutton and Jane were gonna tease the hell out of her for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk to me about these gays
> 
>  
> 
> @lighthousefeminism - Tumblr  
> @yourlocalbard - Twitter


	5. What Friends Are For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat shows up to the gallery to support Adena, but gets more than she bargained for when she is introduced to Adena's friends.
> 
> Kat and Adena share some intimate moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I'm back! Enjoy this 5k word monstrosity, I was unable to split it into different chapters (to my liking), so I guess this chapter will just be longer than the rest.
> 
> Also, if there was ever any doubt, I show in this chapter that I know little to nothing about the actual art world/scene. I made some shit up that I thought works but if it is especially egregious, someone let me know and I'll come up with something.
> 
> Have fun. >:D

Kat shivered in the evening air as she stepped out of the car onto the pavement outside the Gladstone. After paying the driver, she glanced at the windowless front of the gallery and lamented that she had come alone. Sutton was working overtime making sure everything was ready for Lauren’s next assistant, and Jane was _very_ against the idea of third wheeling, regardless of how much Kat told her it'd be a casual thing, so that left Kat on her own for the night.

The exterior of the building was a slab of plain grey brick on an otherwise unassuming street, but Kat walked no more than three feet into the building before she was already flanked by two enormous statues of naked figures staring down at her. The sculptures were exquisitely detailed, and Kat had to reach out and touch one of the toes to be sure that they weren’t just very convincing actors. Continuing further into the building, she could see a man with a simple clipboard sitting behind a small stone slab with hundreds of realistically painted eyes.

“First time here?” The man smiled and picked up the clipboard as Kat approached. Kat laughed a little and nodded.

“Yeah, how could you tell?”

“Well, you didn’t pretend that you understood what these eyes are supposed to mean.” He said, motioning to the short counter he was sitting behind. He twirled a pen in his hands and looked down to the paper in front of him. “So, what’s your name?”

“Kat Edison.”

“Oh, you’re the one Adena’s been mentioning!” He raised his eyebrows and looked up at her, holding out a hand for Kat to shake. Seeing her confusion, he continued. “I’m Byron, I’m one of Adena’s friends.”

Kat remembered the name immediately and kicked herself for not recognizing him; Byron was one of the eight other people Adena followed on Twitter. Kat relaxed and shook his hand.

“It’s very nice to meet you Byron! Do you know where Adena is? I’ve been texting her but she isn’t responding.”

“Oh, she’s in the exhibit getting ready. You can’t go in just yet but it’ll open in a few minutes. It’s down the hall and to the right.”

Kat thanked him and headed into the gallery where the event was being held. The space was more vacant than what she’d pictured in her head. There were a couple dozen people in attendance, and most of them looked like they could buy everything Kat owned on a whim.

Kat kept herself busy by sending pictures of the outfits to her group chat with Sutton and Jane so she didn’t have to talk to any of the _many_ old white men in suits.

 

_Adena Stan sent a Photo to the group chat_

_Adena Stan: What is it with white dudes and only wearing plain black suits._

_Adena Stan sent a Photo to the group chat_

_Adena Stan sent a Photo to the group chat_

_Nora E. Bitch: Please don’t get me started on men in black suits, I won’t finish my work tonight._

_Adena Stan sent a Photo to the group chat_

_Adena Stan: See, these two know how to spruce it up_

_TIME Magazine: I love the rainbow pins._

_Adena Stan: Trust me, these old gay men are the only thing keeping my spirits up in this incredibly straight environment. I don’t know how Adena stands it._

_Nora E. Bitch: Speaking of, how is your future wife? You better not be ignoring her to text us_

_TIME Magazine: Don’t be like that Sutton._

_TIME Magazine: How are you two doing names btw? Is it gonna be hyphenated like Edison-El-Amin? Or are you just gonna keep your own._

_Adena Stan: I came out here to diss men in suits but all I’m getting is roasted._

_Adena Stan: The exhibit is opening, I’ll talk to you traitors later._

_Nora E. Bitch: I bet she’s taking Adena’s name._

_Nora E. Bitch: [Whip Emoji]_

 

Kat slipped her phone into her purse and followed the crowd as they were ushered inside the exhibit hall.

The rooms were massive, much larger than Kat thought they’d be. The art was all over the place, both in tone and in location. Kat asked one of the museum staff members if she could get a map or some kind of direction to Adena, but they insisted that the artists wanted everyone to see everything before they came out and talked about their work. It was frustrating that Kat had to wait to see Adena and her work, but she admitted that it was a fair idea.

While the main crowd worked their way through the art in the first few rooms, Kat kept walking through the rooms until she made it to the other end of the building away from everyone else.

The first room she stopped in was small and empty, with the exception of a mass of wires mounted around a pole. Kat spent a few minutes trying to make out what the shape was supposed to be before she gave up and moved on. As she walked past it to the next room, though, it caught her eye again. She moved back and watched the shape change as she adjusted the angle she looked at it. From one angle it appeared as a skull on a pole, and from another, it appeared as a blooming flower.

The next room was filled with tiny shards of colored glass hanging from the ceiling, all different shapes, sizes, and colors. Three lamps hung in the middle of them, each a different style and height. When Kat turned on one lamp, the room lit up with a mosaic of green and blue as the light shone through the glass. Another lit the room in pink and purple hues and the third was an orange and red kaleidoscope. When she turned them all on the room was bathed in rainbow light.

The room beyond that was the first Kat had seen with any kind of labeling. A short sign stood in the entryway with a single word, all capitals, in bold; “ **ONE** ”. Inside the room, a single bulb on a rod stood surrounded on all walls by massive photographs. Each of the photos depicted a person’s chest, the head and legs cut off by the edges of the picture. Each one held something in front of them, but all the figures were different and the objects they held were all unique.

One pictured a person in a suit holding out a ring with a few keys on it. Another showed a person covered in tattoos holding out a stuffed toy rabbit. One person stood behind a child, whose head was only just in the frame. One person held out a dog collar on both of their hands. Another picture showed two people, arm in arm.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught Kat’s attention and she turned to see a woman approaching through the room Kat had come from. Kat didn’t recognize her from the crowd before though. She wore a leather jacket, and her hair was pulled into a ponytail, the sides of her head shaved. When she saw Kat notice her she gave a small smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your experience.” She held up her hands apologetically.

“Oh no, it’s cool. I’m not normally an artsy person, it’s probably going over my head anyway.”

The woman frowned and walked to stand next to Kat.

“I don’t know about _that_ … Everyone has something they bring to the art. What do _you_ see?”

Kat sighed.

“The last time I was asked about art, my friend said, like, the same thing. Are all artist types like this?”

“Well,” she said with a laugh, “only the ones who aren’t full of themselves.”

Kat looked back at the picture in front of her, and the woman did the same. A person wearing a tanktop held out a small rubber “Livestrong” bracelet. The shirt was blank, and their face was cut out of frame like the rest.

“Well… I see people with something that matters. Like, ‘the one thing you’d grab in a fire’ sort of thing.”

The woman raised her eyebrows and nodded. Kat looked back at her and continued. “How did I do?”

The woman shrugged.

“You’re right of course. Every interpretation is right for the person seeing it.”

“While I appreciate that, it isn’t really what I meant. You’re the artist, right? What did _you_ intend.”

“Oh, this isn’t mine. I’m afraid I’m not this good with photographs. Or people, if I’m honest.” She laughed. “I just happen to know the artist. Which means I know about this…” She stepped back and pulled the cord on the lamp.

The room filled with faint black light and on each of the photos, there were words in all different handwriting. ‘ _A friend’, ‘my first toy’, ‘my daughter’,_ and more. The one in front of Kat read ‘ _my mother’s bracelet_ ’. Kat went silent as she inspected each of the photos again. The woman continued.

“If you just look at them, you may never figure it out. If you look at them in another light, though, you can see deeper.” She turned the light back off and the words disappeared. “Even with that light, we’ll never really know.”

“Just like in life.” Kat said aloud, without really meaning to. “This is Adena’s, isn’t it.” When she turned back, the woman was grinning.

“Well, I must say I’m impressed. I can see why she likes you so much.”

Kat’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but the woman spoke again to clarify.

“My name is Corinne Pascal, but you can call me Coco.” She held out a hand and Kat shook it. “I’m one of Adena’s friends. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Coco. Adena’s ex. Kat wasn’t sure what to think. If the comments were to be believed she was either a horrible person or a saint, but in-person she seemed to just be… normal.

“It’s good to meet you, Coco, I’ve heard some things about you too.”

“Not all from D’s fans, I hope.”

“I’ll form an opinion on my own I think.”

“Oh, I like you… Three rooms back, take a left and you’ll find her. I imagine she'll be hard to miss.”

 

Before Kat could even enter the room Coco had described, she was interrupted by a stampede of buyers and critics exiting, talking obnoxiously loud about the dinner they had before the event. Slipping past them into the room, she found Adena. Dressed in a beautiful dress that faded from maroon at the top to a deep red at the base, she was speaking with a staff member about moving the art. Beside them, covering the fifteen-foot wall almost entirely, was a familiar painting. Kat recognized it from the first time she met Adena, the one she was working on when Kat entered the studio.

The painting depicted new york from the view in Adena’s studio, buildings and roads everywhere. At the leftmost side of the painting, the sky was a fading mix of pink and orange as the sunset in the background. The painting transitioned into darkness as the sun disappeared and the buildings were illuminated by streetlight. The darkness then moved into an orange and blue as the sun rose on the rightmost side of the painting. Stepping closer, Kat could see a little placard at the bottom with the word ‘LIMINAL’ written on it.

The art was unbelievably detailed. Until she stepped within a couple feet of the canvas it felt closer to a photo than a painting. The buildings in the night section even had people standing in front of some of the windows. Scanning through them, one of the figures looked familiar. A dark-skinned woman with curly hair pulled back into a ponytail.

“Kat!” Adena called out from behind her. Kat turned back as Adena approached, her arms extended. Kat smiled and wrapped her arms around Adena as they embraced. “How are you? How has your night been? I’m sorry I couldn’t respond to your texts, the event has been filled with issues we did not expect.”

“No worries, I’ve had a great time! I loved the photo project you did, it was beautiful.”

Adena’s eyes lit up, and she grinned.

“Thank you!” She let out a breath, but the light stayed in her eyes. “Truthfully, I enjoyed that more than this,” She motioned to the panorama, “but it’s harder to market. Still, this will make a good sum for charity. Firuze has told me the buyers are thinking it will probably go for a million or so.”

Kat’s jaw dropped. She’d known that Adena was critically acclaimed, but still. That was _a lot_ of money. She stared at Adena in silence, and the woman’s grin turned to a laugh and she had to cover her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Wow…”

“It’s not really worth that much,” Adena said, getting her laugh back under control. “philanthropic work always goes higher than the estimate. The buyers like to think it makes them look better. Plus the tax write-offs don’t hurt.”

“I mean that’s still a million dollars for charity Adena, that’s incredible.” Kat swallowed as she tried and failed to keep herself from continuing her thought. “You’re incredible.”

They locked eyes and something flickered in Adena’s eyes. Kat swore she could see Adena’s cheeks grow the faintest bit pink. Adena opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by a voice that called out from around a corner and the two turned towards it.

“So D, how’d you do? Get any good offers from those-” Byron rounded the corner with a number of other figures, but stopped as he saw Kat. Behind Byron stood Coco and two other women Kat didn’t recognize. “Oh... hey... I’m sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt anything…”

“No,” Adena said, holding up a hand as they turned to leave, “it’s no worry, we were just talking about the art. Everyone, this is Kat Edison. Kat, these are my friends.” At the mention, they filed into the room.

Adena held a hand out to each of her friends as she introduced them.

“Yasmin Afshar,” she pointed to a woman with a bob and an elegant deep green dress. She wore jewelry all over — on her neck, all over her ears, on her wrists and fingers.

“It’s good to meet you, my dear.” Yasmin spoke in a low voice, holding her hand out to shake.

“Felicia LaRue,” Adena motioned to a woman with her hair in a messy bun. She wore a pair of overalls that were covered in paint splotches of various colors. She made a small wave with her hand and gave a little smile, but said nothing.

“Byron Ferét,”

Byron smiled and shook her hand.

“It’s good to meet you again Ms. Edison.”

“And, finally, Coco Pascal,” Adena pointed to Coco, who made a small bow before holding out her hand. Felicia giggled and shook her head at the display.

“It’s good to officially meet you, Kat. I know that the event will be winding down imminently, but I hope we will see more of each other soon. Your perspective on Adena’s ‘ONE’ was insightful, I’m sure I’d like to talk more.”

Kat hadn’t even realized how much time had passed while she was looking at the art. The event was closing in ten minutes and she couldn’t see any other patrons wandering around in their portion of the exhibit.

“Totally! I feel the same, you all seem cool.”

“You should come hang with us,” Byron chimed in, “we’re gonna spend a few hours back at Adena’s place, play a few games to wind down. It’d be a good icebreaker.” He looked to Yasmin and Felicia, who both nodded. Yasmin spoke gently.

“I’d be interested in getting to know you. Maybe I’ll have something to tell those idiots asking me about you.”

“Don’t mind her,” Coco said quickly, “she’s just like that. I’m down. ‘Dena?”

Adena was unreadable but snapped out of it when her name was mentioned.

“Of course you can come over, I’d love to spend more time with you. Assuming you are not busy, that is. No pressure.”

Adena and her friends looked at Kat. It was all happening so fast, Kat was not expecting that she would be invited to spend time with Adena again so soon. Kat had thought that Adena’s friends would be more like the stereotypical haughty artist, but they were all so inviting that Kat was thrown off.

“Absolutely, yeah! If you don’t mind.”

“Yes!” Byron exclaimed, doing a fist pump. Yasmin put a hand on his shoulder and he stopped. “Right, I’m only normally excited.”

Adena hooked her arm with Kat’s and led her out as the others followed. She could practically hear the others whispering behind them, but holding Adena’s arm in hers was distracting enough that she didn’t mind. As they left the building, Kat turned to Adena and whispered in her ear.

“The elegant Ms. El-Amin leaving her gallery with her lady love? What will the tabloids say…” Kat scoffed in fake shock. Adena smiled and whispered back.

“Back to my home? With you in that outfit? Surely I must be ravishing you deep into the night.” Kat couldn’t see Adena’s face while she spoke in her ear, but the way that Adena drew out the word _ravishing_ was enough to bring heat to her face. Before Adena had the chance to see how red she was, Kat spoke to her again.

“I can see the headline now — Romea and Juliet 2: the Lovening.”

Adena threw her head back in laughter and Kat regretted the joke immediately. Adena, laughing, bathed in the streetlight, holding her arm tight… She was so impossibly beautiful, Kat could feel a pulling sensation in her chest.

Kat looked back to Adena’s friends and caught them as everyone except Felicia looked away, pretending that they weren’t just looking at the two of them. Felicia smiled and gave a little wave and Kat waved back.

 

The ride to Adena’s studio/apartment was relatively short. She explained to Kat that the entire building was just giant studio apartments with few walls or furnishings and that she had almost the whole floor to herself. As Adena led them through her floor, Kat looked around the art space to see that it was almost entirely different. Empty easels were stacked in a corner, the enormous window overlooking the city was finally visible again now that the panorama was finished, and the wall that was covered in graffiti had been painted over again in a navy blue, and was partially covered in a flower mosaic.

Compared to the to the newly empty art space, Adena’s living area was packed and vibrant. Almost every wall was covered in art of some kind, what looked like both her works and others’. Light sculptures hung from the ceiling, illuminating the entire space. Left of the entrance was a table and a small kitchen area that looked to be well-used. To the right was a half-closed red curtain that seemed to lead to Adena’s bed. Just in front of the door was a large L-shaped couch, a loveseat, and a beanbag.

As soon as she entered, Adena set down her things on a small table beside the door and went to the kitchen.

“Would anyone like something to drink?” She called out behind her as everyone else filed in. People started calling out drinks as they sat down, and Yasmin went to help Adena carry everything. While they got drinks for everyone, Coco went back to the work area and Byron reached behind the couch and pulled out an easel and a cheap-looking canvas. Felicia rifled around underneath the loveseat and pulled out a ukulele. Coco returned with a hand full of brushes and a set of what looked like children’s paint.

“Who’s going first?” Byron said as he set up the easel and placed the canvas on it.

“I vote D goes first,” Yasmin called out from the kitchen as Adena brought over the drinks, “It was her big night, she should get the pleasure.”

“Seconded.” Coco said as she sat down beside Kat on the couch.

“What are you talking about?” Kat asked, confused.

Adena sighed and squinted her eyes at Coco, grabbing the ukulele from Felicia. As she moved a stool over from the kitchen table, Byron explained.

“After we have a gallery, like tonight, we like to do a little game where everyone does something they’re not good at. For example; I do theater so I’m not allowed to sing or dance, but I can make an embarrassment of myself by trying to paint something. Coco can’t sculpt or paint but she can try to sing if she wants. That kind of thing.”

“As embarrassing as it can be,” Adena said, sitting down and placing the ukulele on her lap, “it’s fun to do something new that you aren’t trained in.”

“Plus it keeps our egos in check, since we’re all artists with illusions of grandeur.” Coco said, taking a sip of her beer.

Once everyone had sat down, Adena smiled and sighed and played an endearingly terrible rendition of a Hozier song. When she finished, everyone clapped and she took a melodramatic bow, before grabbing the brushes from Coco and handing them to Yasmin.

“Seeing as you nominated me to go first, it only seems fair that you go second.”

Yasmin rolled her eyes and took the brushes, and proceeded to start painting.

“So Kat,” Byron said, setting down his soda, “what do you do over at Scarlet? Any juicy stories?”

Kat took a sip of her tea and thought for a moment.

“I’m the social media manager, though soon to be the department head.”

Coco nodded in appreciation and Byron whistled and nodded. Adena’s eyebrows rose and she sat down on the other side of Kat.

“I hadn’t heard, that’s wonderful news Kat.” Adena said, sliding her hand on top of Kat’s. “What does that mean for you? I imagine you'll be taking on more responsibility.”

“Mostly it just means I'll have people helping me manage the twitter account. Right now I'm so busy I can't do much on other platforms because twitter takes up so much time.”

“Damn, you manage that account by yourself?” Yasmin said, finishing her drawing of a potato family and a stick house. “Talking to people all day? You're a braver woman than I.” Everyone clapped for the art and Byron stood up to take the next turn.

“I mean, it’s not that bad. I could never do what y’all do. Your work is all personal and you have to deal with people being paid to judge it.” Kat said, waving with her cup before taking another sip.

“Well think about it like this...” Coco motioned to Kat with her beer. “We both have people telling us that they hate us and everything we do, so we share that in common.”

Kat nodded and brushed her mug against Coco’s beer, which clinked audibly.

After Byron revealed the field of flowers he had drawn, Felicia presented a little ceramic figure she’d sculpted herself. Coco played an orchestral song from her phone as she failed to pirouette in time with the music. When everyone finished clapping for her and Coco finally slumped down on the couch again, she sighed.

“So what next, did we want to grab the board for Pictionary?”

“Actually,” Kat said, raising her hand a little and getting everyone’s attention, “could I do something?”

Coco was surprised but nodded affirmatively.

“Yeah, totally. Knock yourself out.”

Kat nodded and smiled, grabbing the ukulele from Yasmin as she sat down on the stool. Avoiding Adena’s piercing gaze, Kat closed her eyes and shook out her hands. Just a few feet away, she could hear someone whisper.

“You’re good. No pressure.”

**“Ever since it started, girl, I always knew // From that moment, that I would love you // It was Sunday morning, the bells in the air // As I caught the shadow of your long red hair.**

**“Roses and Wine // Crimson and Thyme // Roses and Wine.”**

The words spilled out of her like a river, easy and flowing. She kept singing, eyes closed, and she could hear the room go silent beyond her voice and her strumming. She poured everything into the words, and as she continued the warbling in her voice steadied and she became clearer. Kat was almost surprised at how good it sounded, and all too soon the song ended. As she plucked the last few notes, she let the ukelele go slack in her hands and she opened her eyes.

Byron was holding his phone out, recording the song. Coco’s eyes were wide. Felicia wore a bright smile, and she nodded to her enthusiastically. Adena was staring, locked unmoving on Kat’s face. Adena opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Yasmin raised a hand and then spoke.

“I don’t think you understood what we were going for here… you’re supposed to do something you’re _bad_ at.”

“She means that it was amazing.” Coco said, swatting Yasmin’s leg lightly. Yasmin rolled her eyes.

“Kat Edison,” Adena finally managed to say, “you are a woman full of surprises, aren’t you.”

Kat felt herself blushing again, and she cursed herself that she was letting herself look like an idiot in front of Adena’s friends.

“I’ll send you the video,” Byron said, “you should _absolutely_ post this.”

 

After spending another few hours playing games, Kat decided that she should head home for the night, despite everyone’s protests. Adena walked Kat out to the first floor of the building, where the two waited for Kat’s lyft to arrive.

“You know, they all love you.” Adena said as they stood in the entryway. “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone hit it off so quickly with all of them at once. Your social media skills must be working their magic.”

Kat gave a small smile and shrugged.

“Well, it’s easy when they’re so fun to be around. It seems like I got pretty lucky when you followed me. In more ways than one.”

Adena shook her head with a laugh.

“I think I’m the one who got lucky. The kind of friends you make in the art world are fine, but it’s nearly always about business. Getting to spend time with you, it’s… refreshing.”

“Well, if we’re going for confessions,” Kat said, “I thought you were going to be a piece of work when we first met. The sort of bratty upstart artist type. But I was wrong. And I’ve never been so glad.”

“Well…” Adena said, trailing off. Her gaze flickered from Kat’s eyes to her face, then back up. “I live to upset expectations.”

Kat’s phone buzzed, notifying that her driver had arrived.

“That’s me. Thank you for inviting me to this, I had so much fun.” Kat opened the door and stepped out.

“Kat,” Adena said, grabbing Kat’s arm and pulling her back in for a tight hug. Kat wrapped her arms around Adena’s waist and held her so close that she couldn’t tell who’s racing heartbeat she could feel. Adena loosened her arms and Kat began to walk back, but instead of letting go, Adena pulled Kat's head closer until their lips met.

It was over in a second, just a peck on the lips, but Kat felt all the air leave her lungs instantly. Adena’s lips were soft and warm like the tea she’d had over the past few hours. Kat blinked and opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Adena loosened her grip on Kat once more but didn’t let her go.

“Let me know when you get home, okay? It’s getting late.” Adena pulled the coat on Kat’s shoulders tighter around her, and let her go.

Kat nodded vigorously, unable to form words. Adena smiled, and Kat walked out to the car. When Kat looked back, Adena was standing in the doorway with her arms wrapped tight around her chest, watching her. Kat got in the car and confirmed where she wanted to go, and when she looked back Adena was still there. Kat waved goodbye, and Adena waved back, standing in the entryway until Kat could no longer see her out of the rearview window.

 

When Kat got home, the first thing she did was take off her dress and bra and throw on her sleeping shirt. She threw her phone onto its charger and scrolled through her feed until she finally got bored and uploaded the video of her singing that Byron sent her.

In minutes, the video was drowning Kat in notifications of all kinds. Kat scrolled through some of the comments and laughed at some of the speculation, but she started noticing a trend in them.

_@wordsmyth: holy shit adena, you useless lesbian_

_@AdeKatOnly: get you a gf who looks at you like Adena El-Amin looks at Kat Edison._

_@CCPart: trust me ladies, it was even gayer in person_

_@tableQueen: like holy shit, I don’t think you could get more intimate than this if they kissed????_

_@tableQueen: I still wanna see that kiss thooooo..._

Kat went back to her tweet to watch the video and realized what they were talking about. Kat never left the frame, but every few seconds Byron moved the camera to catch Adena’s reaction to the song. Kat hadn’t noticed with her eyes closed, but Adena was enthralled the entire performance. She starts the video wringing her hands out and quickly stops moving, staring at Kat with wide eyes.

Kat switched to her phone app.

The line rung what felt like an unbearable amount of times before she finally picked up.

“Hello? Kat?” Adena’s voice was almost enough to make Kat freeze up again, but she pushed through, biting her lip and nodding furiously.

“Yeah, it’s me! Just wanted to let you know that I got home alright.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Though, you could have just texted me you know… Unless there was something else?”

“Yeah,” Kat said, swallowing hard, “actually, I was wondering if you wanted to get brunch sometime this week? Like, just us. There is this new place a few blocks from me that I wanted to check out and I thought we could go together. It’s no problem if you can’t, I know you’re, like, super busy and-”

“Kat, Kat, hey!” Adena said, almost in a laugh, “It’s fine, I’d love to get brunch with you. I’m a little busy this week, but… I think I could do Friday? If that works for you.”

Kat smiled into her receiver and did a little dance around her apartment.

“Yeah, Friday is great!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, what about that kiss, huh? Totally platonic right? Kat you useless bisexual mess.
> 
> If anyone is wondering about the song (though the fandom is pretty small and I think most of us have seen the post at this point), Aisha sang it at a NYE party once, and she sounded great.
> 
> You can watch it [here](http://pseudofaker.tumblr.com/post/172558889492/aisha-dee-singing-roses-and-wine-with-jordan)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Comments are always welcome and appreciated.
> 
> @lighthousefeminism on tumblr


	6. Windfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat has brunch with Adena, and the two suddenly find themselves spending more time talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. I wanted to get this out last week but apparently, I can't stop writing 5k word chapters, so it's a tad late.
> 
>  
> 
> I have a very important question to ask all of you. But it will wait until the end. Don't read it until you've finished the chapter.

Kat readjusted her position in the hard metal chair for the tenth time in as many minutes. The café was starting to get packed, and she was glad that she’d had the foresight to arrive early and grab a seat for her and Adena. A waiter came by and offered her a refill on water and Kat nodded politely.

Adena was running late, but she’d told Kat as much an hour before their brunch so Kat wasn’t worried. Or, at least, she wasn’t worried about her being late.

With the benefit of time, she’d realized that she didn’t actually _say_ that she meant this as a date, that her hurried desire for a brunch meeting was intended to be romantic. Jane and Sutton were excited, but not particularly helpful

 

* * *

 

Last Week

“You _kissed Adena El-Amin_ . On the _mouth_.” Jane said, highlighting every word with a clap of her hands.

“Well, she kissed me...” Kat said, a little under her breath. Sutton squinted her eyes and grimaced.

“Is that not… Is that not what you were going for? Is there a reason you didn’t bust our door in with champagne and rainbow flags?”

“She does that with, like, everyone though. Like, a quarter of her Instagram photos are her and her friends kissing each other on the cheek.” Kat threw her arm over her eyes, trying to explain all the reasons she shouldn’t think of it as a romantic kiss.

“Yeah, well this wasn’t posing for a picture, this was _just_ you two, _alone_ , in a hallway, after she _hugged_ you, and pulled your coat tighter on you.” Sutton stood up, excited at the turn of events but agitated at how obstinate Kat was being. “ _God_ that’s _so_ romantic…”

“She spent a lot of time in France, I don’t know,” Kat sat up abruptly, covering her face with her hands, “I just don’t want to think it means something and it ends up being totally nothing.”

Sutton sighed and sat back down between Jane and Kat.

“You’re really working yourself up over her huh.”

Kat just nodded, head still in her hands. Sutton shrugged. “Well maybe you’re right, maybe you’re wrong; She’s famous and rich, two things I still don’t really understand. But either way, you’re killing yourself by sitting around doing nothing about it. Why not just ask her? Worst case, you’re still friends. Right?” She turned to Jane for support. Jane finished a swig of her wine and shook her head.

“Don’t look at me, I was over my head when you talked to her the first time. This is a whole other league for me.” She said with a shrug. Sutton swatted her lightly on the knee. “Ow, fine. Worst case you made a great connection in the art world and don’t get to date a minor celebrity. Happy?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Kat!” Adena called out, pulling Kat from her thoughts. The artist walked out onto the patio of the café, holding her arms out. Kat pulled her chair out and walked over, letting Adena pull her into a hug. As she moved away to sit back down, Adena kissed Kat on both cheeks and smiled before sitting down. Kat hoped she could blame the red in her cheeks on the sun. “I apologize for being late, I’ve had a busy day and it’s barely even started.”

“I’m sorry that it’s been so hectic. Is it work stuff?”

The waitress who poured Kat’s water swung by with another glass and some menus before moving on again. Adena nodded as she looked over the menu.

“Yes, though it’s the least interesting part of it. I have a bunch of meetings with buyers and potential clients, but it’s all about the money and not about the art. A necessary aspect of my career, if a tedious one.”

“Ugh,” Kat said, leaning her head back and rolling her eyes, “that’s the worst. I’ve had to do a bunch of board meetings to explain what a social media department would even do and they just…. don’t get it.”

Adena nodded thoughtfully, taking a sip from her water.

“How has that been going? I’ve been meaning to ask, it sounds very exciting.” She smiled.

“Pretty good so far! As much as the board doesn’t seem to understand what I’m doing, Jacqueline has been working hard to show them what it does, what it _can_ do.”

The waitress swung back around and took their orders before heading back inside. Kat continued as she handed her menu to the waitress with a ‘thank you’.

“She helped me convince the board to put our name in for your interview, actually. Half the board didn’t want to even try.”

“Oh, how far we’ve come.”

 

“Wow,” Kat said, “how did they manage to hide them?”

“I’m not sure,” Adena shrugged, “but they were happy to have them regardless. It’s been a long time since I lived in Iran, but I’m sure they have their ways of hiding things like that.”

“Breaking the law never sounded so fun.”

“Well, I never could have done it without you.”

“What can I say? You need to smuggle sex toys? I’m your woman.” Kat says with a grin. Adena snorts and smirks. She looks down to her watch and her eyebrows knit together.

“Oh wow, eleven already?” Adena frowned. Kat looked down at her phone and confirmed the time.

“Oh, do you have to go? I’m sorry, I wasn't paying attention.”

Adena waved her concerns away with a shake of her hand.

“No, no, it’s fine. I should have been keeping track. Time just seems to fly when we’re together, doesn’t it?” Adena said, flashing a smile as she pulled out her phone. Kat laughed a little too much and tried to hide her blush by very intently putting her purse back in her wallet. Adena started speaking Farsi into her receiver, looking out at the street. She turned back to Kat and covered the microphone on her phone. “I’m sorry, I have to go. It was lovely talking with you!”

Kat bit her lip and nodded, building up her nerve before she spoke.

“Totally, we should do this again!”

Adena’s eyes twinkled and she nodded enthusiastically, speaking into her phone again. Kat got out of her seat when Adena did and held her arms out for a hug, which Adena reciprocated, kissing Kat’s cheeks once more. Adena waved goodbye one last time as she walked out onto the sidewalk and headed down the street, out of sight.

 

 

 

It was a surprise when Adena called Kat on facetime a few hours later. Kat ignored the looks she got from Jane and Sutton as she rushed off to the fashion closet to take the call. Kat quickly flattened her outfit and fixed her hair before answering.

“Adena? Hey!”

“Kat!” Adena said, her stoic look melting into a smile that made Kat’s heartbeat go wild. “I‘m so sorry to bother you, at work, I just wanted to know if you happened to find a ring after our brunch? I got in the car and noticed I was one short.”

“I don't think so,” Kat frowned and shook her head, “did you check at the café? Maybe they found something.”

“Ah…” Adena sighed, her smile faltering faintly. A muffled voice spoke from out of frame and Adena stared away from her phone, before looking back. “I haven't had the time, I'm in meetings the rest of the day. I wanted to get them all over with at once but it's turning into a mess. My last one went fifteen minutes over and now I'm going to be late for the next one…” Adena looked away from her phone again, towards what Kat assumed was Firuze.

Adena was doing a good job hiding her nerves, but she was biting her bottom lip and Kat had learned what that meant. Adena turned back to the screen.

“I'm sorry Kat, I don't mean to vent all this to you. I'm sure you have your own troubles.”

“I could go look for you!”

Adena’s face lit up immediately and Kat felt a fluttering in her stomach.

“Oh, Kat. Are you sure? I feel like I'm constantly keeping you from work…” Adena half-covered her mouth with her hand.

“Yeah, no problem! Send me a pic and I'll go back and ask around.”

Adena's eyes lit up and her mouth opened, but the sound of a car door opening cut her off.

“I have to go, I'm already late for this, but Kat…” Adena put her hand over her chest and paused for a moment. “Thank you.”

Kat stared at the black screen for a few moments before she put her phone down. A second later, her phone pinged and a photo of Adena appeared. It was cropped just to her hand, with a poorly drawn arrow pointing to the ring in question. It was small and simple, a gold band with a basic engraving. Beneath the photo was a single emoji, a little red heart.

 

* * *

 

 

Kat kept working another few hours before she finished for the day and hurried back to the café just as the dinner rush hit. The line was out the door and so tightly packed that Kat had a hard time trying to make her way to the front.

“Hey! Miss!” A familiar voice called out, and Kat took a moment to realize it was meant for her. Behind Kat was a woman in a sweatshirt with her hood up, chewing bubblegum. She looked familiar to Kat but she couldn’t quite place it until the woman continued. “You were here earlier, right? For brunch?”

“Oh! Yes I was,” Kat said, as she remembered the waitress from before, “I’m so glad I found you actually…” Kat began pulling out her phone and swiped through her photos.

The woman nodded and cut Kat off.

“That ring right? One sec…” the waitress said with a pop of her bubblegum, sliding her way through the crowd like a pro. After a minute or so of waiting, Kat saw the woman squeeze her way back outside. As she walked up, she opened her fist to reveal the missing ring. “We found it under the table after you left but we couldn’t find a way to contact you so we kept it behind the counter. You’re lucky you caught me, I just got off shift.”

“Wow, thank you so much! How did you even recognize me, you must get so many people every day.”

“Well, it’s not everyday you get to serve a gay power couple.” A coy smile spread on the woman’s face as she chewed her gum. Seeing Kat’s confusion, she pulled out a necklace with twin venus symbols. Kat laughed and nodded.

“Ah. Well that explains it.’

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna bother you no more, just wanted to say y’all were even cuter in person.”

Kat thought about correcting her, about telling her that they were just friends. She thought about it a lot.

“Thank you.” Kat said, allowing herself a little smile. The woman reciprocated, her smile widening as she nodded in approval.

“You have a good night miss.”

 

Knowing that Adena was probably in a meeting, Kat sent Adena a picture of the ring in her hand and tried to focus on other things as she headed home. That didn’t keep her from feeling disappointed when she hadn’t called by the time that she got home.

It was while watching the bachelor, spoon in a tub of ice cream, that Kat’s phone lit up with a video call notification. She almost knocked her phone across the room when she sat up and put the ice cream on the table in front of her.

When she opened up the phone, she was greeted with a dreary Adena, laying down on her bed with a scarf tossed loosely around her head. After all the time that she had spent with Adena in her hijab, Kat was stuck by the sense of intimacy of the moment.

“Kat! Thank you so much.” Adena said, her voice hoarse. Adena rubbed at her eyes and gave a tired smile.

“It’s nothing, I barely had to do anything.” Kat walked over to her nightstand where she had put the ring for safe-keeping. She twirled it around in front of the camera before setting it back down. “They had it behind the counter. The waitress kept it safe for us.”

“Oh really? That was kind of her.” Adena tilted her head.

“Yeah. She said she was a fan of yours.”

Adena raised her eyebrows.

“Huh. I don’t run into fans in person often. She wasn’t any trouble, I hope.”

“Oh no, sweet as can be. She said we were cute together.”

Adena laughed a little, voice still hoarse.

“Well, keep the ring safe for now. We can work out how to get it back tomorrow when I’m not about to fall asleep on the spot.”

“Of course, I’ll keep it as long as you need.”

“Thank you Kat, it means a lot.” Adena rubbed her eyes again and let out a yawn. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow dear. Have a good night.” Adena waved and Kat waved back, and the connection ended.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Kat was about to start cleaning up breakfast when Adena called the next day. This time she was sure to set her things down before rushing to get her phone out. When she answered, Adena was once again in a car.

“Good morning Kat, how are you.”

“Good! About to head out for a run with Sutton and Jane. Did you wanna swing by and grab the ring? I could have them wait a bit.”

“No, don’t worry about it, I just wanted to tell you that the week ahead is a little iffy for me, so I’m not sure which days I will be free.”

“Oh really? What’ve you got, anything fun?” Kat said, setting her phone down facing her as she started on the dishes.

“Well…” Adena said, as if to protest somehow, but looked away from the phone momentarily and then continued. “Do you remember that charity painting? From the gallery? Today I’m meeting with the charity to deliver their money.”

Kat frowned and nodded. Adena continued. “If it were up to me, I would have just sent it electronically, but the charity wants to thank me and my manager wants to get pictures of me with the organizer, so… I’m on my way.”

Kat smirked as she scrubbed her plate with a sponge.

“Did they get you one of those really big cardboard cheques to hand off?”

Adena laughed and nodded.

“It is… truly egregious. But I’ll get to speak with some of the people working there, so I think it will be a positive experience overall.”

“What _is_ the charity exactly?” Kat said, drying off the plate. “I don’t think I ever caught a name, actually.”

“Oh! It’s a group that handles women’s shelters across New York. They specialize in minority groups; queer women, women of color, people like that.”

“Wow,” Kat said under her breath, as she put away a pan, “that’s… I don’t know what to say Adena, that’s so good of you.”

“Eh, it’s nothing. I make more money than I could spend in a lifetime in this line of work. Sitting in a bank somewhere it isn’t going to do anyone any good.”

Kat sighed, looking into her pantry. Adena was so kind it was almost cartoonish. Kat turned back to her phone but before she could speak, Adena looked to her right, as a door opened and she was bathed in sunlight.

“Sorry Kat, it seems I have to go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow! Have a good day!”

“You too!”

The call ended, and Kat picked up her phone, walking out of her apartment to meet Sutton and Jane in the front.

 

The second time Adena called, Kat was about to head into a meeting, and Kat had to explain very quickly that she couldn’t meet that day, and she works out a time that Adena could call again the next day when she was less busy.

The third time was a comedy of errors. Whenever Kat's schedule opened up, Adena had to duck into a meeting or sign some paperwork. Whenever Adena got free, Kat was doing an interview or talking with Jacqueline. After going back and forth for a few hours they decided that they'd try again later.

The fourth time, Adena says she can’t meet because she’s heading out to celebrate her mother’s birthday in Iran for the next couple days. All throughout pre-flight, Adena tells Kat about her family. Her mother, Bahar, her little sister, Zahra, and Zahra’s husband, Ali. Adena was in the middle of recounting the time Ali tried to cook something for the family and nearly burnt their house down when she was told to turn off her electronics for the flight.

The fifth time, Adena was still in Iran and obviously couldn’t meet, but Adena had promised to finish her story about Ali’s terrible cooking, so she had to call. Not to be outdone, Kat told her own story of how Jane set off the fire alarm in their college dorm and evacuated hundreds of people because she wanted to microwave popcorn at one in the morning. They swapped embarrassing stories for hours until Adena realized the time in New York and forced Kat to go to bed.

The last time Adena called, she called from Iran again, but only because she was staying a day later than she’d initially thought.

“Sorry Kat, my mother wanted some help around the house before everyone headed out. Tomorrow looks like I’ll be in the air most of the day, but I’ll be back in New York at ten that night. So I’ll be free then, as long as that isn’t too late for you.”

“That’d be great! Let me know when you’re home and everything and I’ll make my way over.”

“Sounds like a plan. W-” Adena was cut off as a woman opened the door behind her and said something in Farsi. Adena lowered the phone so that Kat had a view of her shirt. Though Kat couldn’t see what was happening or understand the words, she could tell the Farsi was picking up in speed and intensity, and soon it became clear that Adena was moving around the room.

“Adena? Is everything alright?” Kat said with a laugh, unsure what was going on. Somewhere off the screen, she could hear the woman yelling with a heavy accent.

“Hello? Who is that?” After more speaking and shuffling, the phone went flying to the carpet, and Kat’s view went black. She was worried that the call had ended until the phone was picked up and she could hear the sound of running. Soon, the phone was filled with the face of a new woman, with features similar to Adena’s, but a little younger.

“Hello? Oh! Pretty.” The woman smiled and waved. Kat tilted her head in confusion but waved back.

“Hey…”

“Zahra!” Adena yelled in the distance, and Zahra turned to look behind her before she took off running again. She lifted the phone above her head so that Kat could see Adena giving chase behind her. After a series of sharp turns, Zahra moved into a room of people.

“Ali!” Zahra shouted, panting, handing the phone to a man with a big beard and a massive smile. He pulled the phone close to his chest, but angled the camera so that Kat could see Zahra run off with Adena behind her.

When they left, he pulled the phone back to his face and started speaking to her in Farsi.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Kat said with a laugh, not sure what to make of the sudden turn of events. Ali made a big motion of throwing his head back and scoffing.

“Ah… American.” He gave his big friendly smile once more. “So, who are you? Girlfriend?”

Kat laughed, mouth ajar. She wasn’t sure what to say.

“We’re friends. We-”

“Ah,” Ali said, brows raising, “girlfriend.” he made an exaggerated winking motion and Kat laughed again. Ali turned down to look at someone speaking to him, and he crouched down with the phone beside a shorter woman. She was older, probably in her fifties or sixties. She moved closer to the screen until her face was the only thing visible.

**“HELLO?”** she said, practically yelling into the microphone from less than an inch away. Kat pulled the phone away from her face and screwed up her face at the blaring noise, but smiled. Ali moved the woman back a little, away from the phone. The woman turned to Ali and spoke in Farsi, and he translated for her.

“Bahar says she likes you better.” He paused a moment as she spoke more. When she finished she waved him off and walked away as he burst out laughing. “She says the last one was too pale!”

“Ali!” Adena called out and Ali looked past the phone, then turned it to face Adena, who was panting and flush.

“Don't blame me, she gave me the phone…” Ali extended the phone and Adena swiped it from him, walking out of the room.

“I’m sorry about that…” Adena said with a pant, “it seems telling me that they needed me for dinner preparation wasn’t enough…”

“That’s quite a family you have there. They’re nice! If a little loud…” Kat made a show of cleaning her ear out and Adena laughed.

“I would ask you what they said, but I think that would be risking another attempt on my phone…”

“Go! We can talk when you get home.” Kat shooed her away and Adena sighed and shook her head, looking like she wanted to say something. Kat raised her eyebrows and moved her ear over to the camera. Adena laughed and Kat backed away again.

“It’s nothing. I’ll speak to you tomorrow, aziz-am. Goodnight.”

“Good night!” Kat said, waving goodbye. As soon as the call ended, Kat pulled out google and looked up what Adena had said. When she saw what it was, her heartbeat picked up. She looked at a few other sites and it only made it worse. One source said it meant “my dear”, another said it meant “sweetheart”. Some sites claimed it could be used with friends, some claimed it was something you used with just your significant other.

This woman was going to be the death of her.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kat was insufferable the whole day while she was waiting for Adena to get back. She kept fiddling with the ring in her hand while she was walking around work. It took almost dropping it for her to settle down and put it somewhere safer. After she got off work she headed back to her apartment to get ready. She spent an unreasonable amount of time picking out an outfit that she was going to wear for ten minutes while she gave the ring back.

Before she had managed to pick something out, Adena called and Kat answered in the black blazer she had been trying out. Adena’s phone was sitting on an easel as she set a few bags down on the couch in her room.

“Hey! I’m back! Head over whenever.”

“On my way!” Kat slid the blazer tighter on her shoulders. Adena put another bag down and walked over to the phone to end the call.

The trip over was torture. Twenty minutes felt like hours, and she stumbled out of the car as soon as it pulled up. Once Adena buzzed her in and Kat finally made her way up to Adena’s floor, Kat stopped in front of the door.

She’d been waiting for an opportunity to talk to Adena in person again after brunch, and she hadn’t even managed to work out what she was going to say. She couldn’t be blunt, that’d come across as rude. She couldn’t be too evasive though, that’s how she ended up with a kiss that _might not have been a kiss_ and a brunch date that _might not have been a brunch date_. Maybe Sutton was right… she could-

The door swung open and Kat was suddenly face-to-face with Adena, wearing a maroon sweatshirt, yoga pants, and a black scarf.

“Hey! It’s good to see you in person finally, it feels like it’s been so long.” Adena smiled and wrapped her arms around Kat before she could respond. When she released, Kat reached into her pocket to get out the ring.

“I brought you a present!”

Adena put on a look of mock-shock.

“Oh really? And here I am without a return gift...”

Kat pulled the ring out and twirled it in her fingers before letting it rest on her palm.

“Why, Ms. Edison… that’s rather forward of you… though I think I have no choice but to accept…” Adena grabbed the ring from Kat’s hand and slipped it on her left hand. Stepping aside, she motioned for Kat to enter. “Come in, come in! Let me make you some tea at least, for your troubles.”

“Okay,” Kat said with a smile, “real quick.”

 

“So what’s with the ring? If you don’t mind me asking. It seems important.” Kat looked over from the table as Adena made them both a cup of tea.

“Ah, I was wondering when you’d ask.” She carefully walked over to the table with the cups and set them down. “It was my father’s. Before he passed.”

“His wedding ring?”

“No, no, my mother keeps that one. This,” She held her hand out to show off the ring, “was his special ring. In Farsi he called it his ‘lover’s luck’. He bought it in a market when he was young. The man at the stall told him it would bring good fortune in his romantic pursuits.”

Kat took a sip of her tea as she listened intently.

Adena continued, “A couple weeks later he met my mother. He always swore it was the power of the ring that won her over.” Adena looked wistfully into her tea before taking a sip and smiling at the memory.

“How did you get it?” Kat said gently, taking another sip.

“It was a gift, from him. We hadn’t talked much after I came out to my family. It was a rough time, but before I left to go study photography in Paris he gave it to me. He told me that since there were fewer lesbians in the world than there were men, I was going to need it to find the right girl.” Adena was smiling wide, her eyes only starting to hint at tears.

“It didn’t work, of course.” Adena continued with a laugh. “I’ve probably dated enough women to fill a softball team since then and it never seemed to work out. But I still wear it.” Adena wiggled her fingers in front of her face to show off the lucky ring, tears gone from her eyes.

“Well,” Kat said, after setting down her empty mug, “jury’s still out right? Maybe you just haven’t found her yet.”

Adena smiled, picking up her mug and Kat’s and setting them in the sink.

“Ever the optimist.”

“What, you don’t think you’ll find _the one_?” Kat said, exaggerating as she stood up.

“Oh no, I’ll find her.” Adena said, giving a wicked grin and making her way to Kat as Kat made her way to the door. “I’m just not going to rely on the worn-out power of a magic ring to find her for me.”

Kat rolled her eyes playfully.

“Well, I think I’m gonna get going, it’s getting pretty late.”

“Of course, of course,” Adena said, waving a hand. “Thank you for bringing the ring back. I trust you with it, of course, but I feel better with it back on my finger.”

Kat nodded as she ordered her ride and slipped her phone back in her pocket.

“Totally. Thank you for the tea. And all that conversation, I think I’m gonna miss calling to talk about that magic ring.”

“We should keep doing it. You managed to meet my whole family that way, who knows what else we could get up to.”

“Oh, but what would we talk about if not your missing jewelry?” Kat said, pointing to Adena’s hand as she walked out of the living area.

“Oh, I’m sure we could find some other accessories for me to lose.” Adena laughed.

Kat let out a breath. There was no way that was an innocent comment. Kat took another few steps before she slowed to a stop. She felt Adena walk up and stand by her side. Kat looked at her phone, her driver only a few minutes away. When she looked back up, she found Adena’s face, head tilted in confusion.

Kat looked down into Adena’s eyes and they locked on her own. There was a mischievous twinkle in them as always, like Adena knew something that Kat didn’t. It was infuriating and captivating all at once.

Kat was tired of beating around the bush. She was tired of dancing around the problem like it’d fix itself. It was time for her to be sure, one way or another. No matter the outcome. No one there to walk in, no one calling to interrupt.

“Have you-”

Kat’s words were cut off, but this time by the sensation of Adena’s lips crashing on her own. Kat was stunned for a second at most before she reciprocated, fitting her hands around Adena’s waist as the smaller woman wrapped her arms around Kat’s neck, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss. Kat could feel Adena grinning into it.

It was sweet but hungry, in a way that Kat wasn’t expecting. As the kiss grew more intense it grew hungrier, and Kat could feel herself feeding it more and more until something clicked in her and she took control. Settling her hands lower on the back of Adena’s legs, Kat pulled and the artist understood. Adena hopped off the ground and let Kat’s arms hold her up as she locked her legs around Kat’s waist. Kat fumbled her way back through the door to Adena’s living area and slammed it shut behind her.

Kat wouldn’t mind paying the fee for missing her lyft.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I blame @T97Carolina for making me believe in top!Kat.
> 
>  
> 
> The question (that I think I know the answer to) is do y'all want a smut chapter? I've never done smut before but if there was a time for it it's now. Relatedly, would you prefer the smut as chapter 7, or would you prefer a new fic JUST for the sex. I could do either.
> 
>  
> 
> @lighthousefeminism on tumblr


	7. Evidence of Living

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat and Adena release some tension.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost, this chapter earns the E. first 2k is smut, the rest is regular fic, so if you want to skip it, search for "kat could feel Adena lay on" and you'll skip it.
> 
>  
> 
> This was finally a more reasonable length again, the rest of the chapters should be about this length unless I'm possessed by a writing spirit again.
> 
> Enjoy, you thirsty thirsty readers.

If Kat wasn’t otherwise occupied, she might have been worried about how hard she shut the door behind her, but with Adena’s thighs in her hands and Adena’s arms pulling Kat harder into her lips it’s hard to worry about anything else. Stumbling through Adena’s house by memory, Kat managed to only bump a few things before she pinned Adena up against the wall.

Kat could feel Adena gasp on impact and Kat kissed the surprised smile off of her lips. Adena’s legs fell from Kat’s waist and Kat pushed her body between them, setting Kat’s body on fire as she felt every inch of Adena on her torso. Adena moaned into the kiss as Kat pushed her harder into the wall and gasped again when Kat grabbed a handful of her ass. Adena broke the kiss, panting, but Kat didn’t let up, letting the heat in the pit of her stomach push her onwards. Kat pressed kisses down Adena’s jaw and then on her pulse point, nipping softly. Out of breath, Adena tangled her fingers in Kat’s hair and pulled her head away from her neck.

“Kat…” Adena whispered, catching her breath. Kat stopped, her hands wandering back to Adena’s waist, worried that she’d gone too far or too fast.

“Mhm?”

Adena opened her eyes just a fraction and Kat could see how blown out her pupils were and she suddenly wasn’t worried anymore.

“Bed?” Adena tilted her head just a fraction, and Kat nodded enthusiastically. Adena’s mouth was on hers again in an instant and Kat stumbled blindly backward as she got lost in the sensation of Adena El-Amin’s lips on hers. Kat shrugged the blazer off of her shoulders and tossed it on the loveseat, or at least where she thought it was. Adena traced her collarbone down to the top of her shirt and started to unbutton.

“Did I ever tell you,” Adena said between kisses, “That you look sexy as hell in a button down.”

“I thought you might feel that way,” Kat said with a smile. Adena finished unbuttoning the shirt, and the look on her face was enough to make Kat very glad she’d decided to go braless. Adena left the shirt tucked in as she traced her fingers up the sides of Kat’s ribcage, ghosting her thumbs over Kat’s abdominal muscles before palming at her breasts. Kat let out a shaky sigh as Adena’s thumbs lightly circled her nipples, heat gathering in her face. Adena leaned in and pressed her lips to the base of Kat’s collarbone and Kat pressed her down harder.

“Sorry I didn’t dress up,” Adena said, kissing her way up until she sucked on the pulse point of Kat’s neck, “I didn’t know I’d be getting _two_ presents tonight...”

Kat’s breath caught in her throat as Adena continued to suck at her weak spot until Kat felt the backs of her knees hit the edge of the bed. Grabbing Adena by her sweatshirt, Kat spun them around and pushed Adena onto the bed.

“Babe, you look sexy in everything you wear,” Kat said, leaning down and putting her arms on either side of Adena’s hips. “But right now….” Kat slipped her hand underneath Adena’s sweatshirt, relishing in the way Adena inhaled through her teeth. “I think you would look best…:” Kat pulled the sweatshirt up just a little and pressed a kiss just below Adena’s belly button. Adena let out a heavy breath and Kat grinned into Adena’s belly. “Without all of this...” Kat hooked a finger in the waistband of Adena’s yoga pants.

Adena nodded vigorously and sat up, fumbling with her sweatshirt until she managed to pull it off of her head. Kat pressed another kiss lower on Adena’s stomach, then another, and then another until her lips hit spandex. Kat looked up to make eye contact with Adena to see her top bare and her hands on Kat’s, begging her to continue.

Kat smiled and turned back to the offending clothing as she gently worked them off, making sure to leave the black panties in place as she did. While her fingers pulled them off the rest of the way, kat placed a kiss in the spot where Adena’s hip met her thigh. Then her right thigh, then back to the left, just a couple inches from her panties.

“Kat, _please…_ ” Adena said, her trembling fingers smoothing Kat’s hair. Kat gave a wicked smile, glad to finally be the one driving Adena crazy instead of the other way around. Kat raked her nails up Adena’s thighs until she caught Adena’s panties and dragged them down torturously slowly. Adena was so wet already and it’d only been a couple minutes, and Kat felt heat begin to pool between her legs at the thought.

Kat dove in and dragged her tongue along the length of Adena’s slit. Adena released a choked whimper that Kat thought might have been the most erotic thing she’d ever heard.

Kat licked Adena again, snaking her arms around the artist’s thighs one at a time to hold her in place. Adena groaned, squirming as Kat flicked her tongue up to Adena’s clit.

Kat used the sound of Adena’s moans to judge how she was doing. Kat raked her nails up and down Adena’s thighs while she ate her out, and Adena jerked her hips. Kat pressed her tongue inside Adena’s entrance and worked a finger inside and Adena’s fingers tightened in her hair. Adena started humping in time with Kat’s thrusts and her breaths began to rise in pitch, and Kat knew what that meant.

“Adena…”

“Fuck…”

“Adena, look at me,” Kat repeats, continuing her strokes as she looks up the smaller woman’s body.

“Fuck, Kat.” Adena tilted her head down to look at her and Kat could see how deliciously flush Adena’s face was. Adena’s breaths were coming out even, but at a pace that she could only just keep up with.

Kat added another finger and curled it into the spot she’d been dancing around and Adena’s eyes went wide and her breath grew ragged and choppy. Adena tried to keep her eyes open, but Kat curled her fingers in just the right spot again and again until she couldn’t hold on any longer. Kat put her lips on the artist’s clit and sucked and suddenly her walls started fluttering around Kat’s fingers until they constricted fully.

Adena’s body went rigid as she came with a cry of Kat’s name, her mouth open as she took a series of strangled gasps. Kat continued her ministrations as Adena rode out her orgasm, and pulled back once she collapsed on the mattress.

Carefully, Kat climbed her way over Adena, planting kisses along her torso as she went. Adena panted, eyes closed, as she caught her breath, and Kat realized for the first time that she’d removed her hijab. Adena’s hair was a mess, splayed out on the pillow at awkward angles and stuck to her face with sweat, and Kat was in awe of it. Kat pressed a long, slow kiss to Adena’s lips, savoring the taste and sensation that she’d been rushing through.

Kat rolled onto her side facing Adena as she let out a sigh and opened her eyes.

“You are… so beautiful.” Kat said in a whisper. Adena turned towards her, frustrated.

“Well. That hardly seems fair then, doesn’t it.” Adena brushed the hair off of her face and pouted. Kat opened her mouth but couldn’t find words to describe her confusion. Adena scooted over until she was right next to Kat, and then rolled on top of her and straddled her.

"Here I am, naked and beautiful,” Adena said, bending down to press a kiss to Kat’s lips, “and here you are. Beautiful, with all of this...” Adena rubbed her hand down the front of Kat’s pants, eliciting an involuntary gasp from Kat “...in the way.”

Adena leaned down, her hair falling around Kat’s face as she captured Kat’s mouth in her own, harder and more forceful than before. Kat didn’t even get a chance to rip her own pants off before Adena undid the button with an audible click. She moved off the bed briefly to pull the pants off the rest of the way and Kat took the opportunity to slip out of her button-down before Adena caught her mouth again.

The sensation was so overwhelming that she almost missed the feeling of Adena’s nimble fingers slipping into the waistband of her panties. The way she curled her fingers into Kat’s heat caught her off guard immediately and Adena took the moment to begin an assault on her neck. Kat was frozen, unsure what to do, her mind too busy scrambling at the warring sensations.

Kat found herself bucking into Adena’s hand involuntarily as she let out a startled moan. Adena caught a portion of Kat’s neck gently between her teeth before releasing and sucking on the tender spot. Kat craned her neck into Adena’s mouth and she quickly realized the mistake when Adena slipped her free hand behind Kat’s neck, just in the spot where her neck met her hairline.

Kat whimpered and Adena understood what it meant. It was Kat’s kryptonite, her Achilles heel, the spot that turned her brain to jelly. Adena traced her fingers along the back of Kat’s neck, soft and gentle, and Kat’s brain went fuzzy. It was all Kat could do to wrap her arms around Adena and hold on as she was ravished in three places at once.

“Oh, god… Ad- fuck, Adena please…” Kat said, her voice struggling to get out. Adena nipped and sucked at top of her collarbone, nuzzling her nose against Kat’s throat and Kat’s attempt at speaking was cut off. The pleasure built and built until Kat couldn’t stand the feeling any longer and it collapsed and Kat clenched down on Adena’s fingers, _hard_.

Kat could feel Adena lay on top of her through the haze of her orgasm. Kat opened her eyes and found Adena, chin on her arms, laying on Kat’s chest.

“You have no idea how long... I’ve been waiting for that…” Kat said between breaths. Adena gave her a polite smile and began to trace shapes along Kat’s collarbone.

“Well… I wouldn’t say _that_.” Adena bit her lip, looking at Kat mischievously. Kat raised an eyebrow, and Adena clarified. “That night, at the scarlet party? I may be a little slow to catch on, but I’m not blind, aziz-am.”

Kat winced. Adena laughed and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

“Was it really that obvious?”

“Only after I knew.”

“Mark me down as mortified,” Kat said with a sigh.

“Well, I would say it worked out in your favor,” Adena said, motioning with her hand to their naked bodies. Kat rolled her eyes but a playful smile crept across her lips.

“I guess now that you mention it…”

Adena nodded, barely containing a smile, and craned her neck up to kiss Kat once more, moving slower this time. When she finally broke the kiss, Kat opened her eyes to find Adena staring at her, the same sort of awe in her eyes from the gala. In an instant, Adena smiles and the look disappeared, replaced by a more playful twinkling.

“I think it would have happened sooner if you had picked up on all the flirting. You really made me work for it.” Adena patted Kat on the chest and rolled off of her to sit up and put her panties back on. Adena grabbed a robe and slipped it over her shoulders, not bothering to tie the front. Walking past the curtain, she called out behind her.

“Would you like water? More tea?”

Kat sat up in the bed.

“Water’s fine. I should probably get going though, it’s getting pretty late.”

“Do you have something tomorrow morning?”

“Not really,” Kat said, making no motion to leave the bed, “I just figured you’d want to go to bed after your flight. And the, uh… workout we just had.”

Adena ducked back behind the curtain and handed Kat a glass of water, which Kat thanked her for.

“It’s awfully far, isn’t it?” Adena frowned. “You can leave if you’d like, but you’re more than welcome to stay the night.” Adena walked to the bathroom beside her bed and flicked on the light, out of Kat’s view.

It wasn’t too far, but Adena was right. It would be at least half an hour before she’d be back at her place.

“Are you sure? I have to warn you, I like to roll in my sleep.”

“Oof,” Adena said, toothbrush in her mouth, “that’s a dealbreaker. I guess I have to kick you out now.”

Kat smiled. After getting her phone out of her blazer pocket she hopped back into Adena’s bed, checking her notifications. Her mentions had spiked after pictures of her and Adena on brunch found their way online, but after almost a week of not seeing each other they’d died back down. For a moment, Kat wondered what would happen when their relationship went public. When Adena walks out of the bathroom though, hands on her hips and eyebrows raised, Kat can’t find it in her to care. Kat slid further under the covers.

“I’ve decided that your bed is so nice, I’m never going home again,” Kat said, patting the empty space beside her in the bed. A coy smile spread on Adena’s face.

“Have you now?” Adena said, sliding into the sheets.

“Oh yeah. I’m _your_ problem now.” Kat said, nodding matter-of-factly.

“Oh, but what a wonderful problem to have,” Adena said with a purr, stroking Kat’s cheek with her palm. Kat let out an uneven breath.

“It’s _really_ not fair how good you are at that…” Kat said with a chuckle that cut off halfway. Kat’s hand curled around Adena’s wrist, and the two of them just stared for a moment. Adena was so beautiful that Kat could feel a pulling in her chest, a longing that she couldn’t describe. She couldn’t stop looking at her face, her hair, her everything.

“What is this…” Kat said, so quiet that she was afraid Adena wouldn’t hear her. Adena opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself for a moment before continuing.

“Whatever we want it to be. But right now, it doesn’t have to be anything.”

Adena shifted her hand to Kat’s neck, and Kat kept her grip on Adena’s arm. It didn’t take long for Adena’s eyes to flutter closed and her breathing to deepen. Kat fought sleep off as long as she could, just to look at Adena for a little longer. As Kat drifted to sleep herself, she tried to wrap her mind around the fact that the world famous Adena El-Amin liked her back.

 

* * *

 

When Kat woke up, she was suffused with a warmth that she didn’t understand until she blearily opened her eyes. Adena laid directly in front of her, Kat’s arms holding her close. Unwilling to get up, Kat nuzzled her nose into the crook of Adena’s neck and let herself fall asleep again.

The second time she was woken up by Adena attempting to get out of the bed. Kat groaned and pulled her back towards her, and she could hear Adena laugh to herself.

“I should really be making some breakfast.” She said, her hands ghosting along Kat’s arms. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Mmmmm… just a little longer…” Kat mumbled into Adena’s shoulder.

“Fine, fine,” Adena says, taking one of Kat’s hand in her own and kissing it. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good. Your bed really is amazing.” Kat said, drifting off once more. Kat’s phone buzzed on the ground beside the bed and she groaned again. “Why does the universe hate letting me sleep?”

Adena laughed and removed Kat’s arms from around her waist.

“I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re ready to wake up.” Adena grabbed a shirt from one of her racks of clothing and threw it on lazily as she ducked through the curtain. Kat rolled onto her side to pick up her phone off of the ground.

The first thing she noticed was that she was only at thirty-seven percent battery left. The second thing was that it was already nine in the morning. Then she noticed that she’d missed a bunch of texts from Sutton and Jane.

 

_Nora E. Bitch: Hey lazybones we’re outside._

_Nora E. Bitch: Kat what is taking so long did you light your kitchen on fire again?_

_TIME Magazine: Kat, are you okay? Why aren’t you answering the door?_

 

“Oh, shit,” Kat whispered, rubbing her eyes and typing out a response before her friends started freaking out any more than they were.

 

_Adena Stan: Shit, sorry guys I forgot about running this morning_

_Time Magazine: “forgot”_

_Time Magazine: its the same day every week_

_Nora E. Bitch: well at least let us in while you get ready_

_Adena Stan: can’t_

_Adena Stan: I was out late yesterday_

_Adena Stan: I had to crash at someone else’s place._

_Adena Stan: go without me, I’m not gonna be home soon_

_Nora E. Bitch: crash at who’s? We’re your only friends, aren’t we?_

_Nora E. Bitch: Or was it… a “friend”?_

_Adena Stan: You could say that._

_TIME Magazine: WAIT_

_Nora E. Bitch: was it good?_

_TIME Magazine: YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE GOING TO SEE ADENA YESTERDAY_

_Adena Stan: ;)_

_TIME Magazine: YOU DIDN’T_

_Nora E. Bitch: YOU_

_Nora E. Bitch: DOG_

_TIME Magazine: Woman, you better not be leaving it at that_

_Nora E. Bitch: Are you kidding me? Why is she talking to us at all when she’s got Adena right there, ready and willing._

 

Kat smiled at her phone and turned off notifications before she put it to sleep. Kat slipped on her shirt and buttoned the middle button so she looked a little more presentable.

Kat could smell pancakes cooking before she even brushed past the curtain and stepped into the living room. She stretched and Adena looked over her shoulder to smile at her.

“Glad to see you’ve decided to join the waking world. Sit down, I just finished.”

 

“So do you have anything going on today?” Kat said, stepped out into the hallway outside Adena’s apartment. Adena shut the door behind her and they walked to the stairs.

“Yes, actually,” Adena said with a sigh. “I will be doing my interview with _Time_ this afternoon. The article should come out in a month or so.”

“Woof, that sounds big! You’ll have to tell me how it goes.” Kat said, stopping just before opening the door to the street.

“Of course!”

The two stood in silence for a moment as they waited for Kat’s ride to arrive.

“So what happens now?” Kat said, fiddling with her phone. Adena’s eyebrows knit together. “With us, I mean. I know it’s been, like, less than twelve hours, I just-”

“Kat, dear,” Adena said, putting a hand on Kat’s bicep, “there’s no need to rush, nothing’s really changed. I like what we’ve been doing, last week was amazing.” Adena stopped a moment before continuing. “Why don’t we go get dinner? How does later this week sound?”

Kat smiled and nodded, glad that Adena was so much better at this than she was.

“Good, great! Though…” Kat stepped forward and put her hands around Adena’s waist. “I was hoping there would be a _little_ more kissing than there was this last week…”

Adena smiled, wrapping her arms around Kat’s neck before pulling her closer.

“I think that can be arranged…” Adena whispered into Kat’s lips, before pulling Kat in for a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woof, how was that? First time with smut, be gentle please.
> 
> I think I've decided how this is going to go (and how it'll end) so we're getting to the end zone y'all. hope everyone is enjoying the ride.
> 
>  
> 
> Find me on tumblr @lighthousefeminism


	8. Like No One Is Watching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat and Adena finally get a date, and Adena mentions something she's been meaning to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. That was a hell of a wait, huh.
> 
> I don't want to go making any promises, don't know when the next update will be.
> 
> Thank you all for your patience!  
> Enjoy :)

Kat prided herself on being prepared. When she posted on the Scarlet social media, she had witty comments and related articles up her sleeve for interested readers and hard facts for naysayers. When she had a meeting with the board, she brought proof of her department’s success, growth charts and profit margins. But when she had her first date with a gorgeous Iranian artist?

Well, it’s a good thing she had a week to get ready.

  


* * *

 

 

“Okay, well you’ve gotta take her to that Italian place on fourth, it’s _so_ romantic,” Sutton said, facing Kat as they both sat on the couch.

“Isn’t that place, like, really small?” Jane called out from the kitchen as she mixed drinks.

“Yeah, but that’s why it’s so good, no one will bother them,” Sutton said quickly before turning back to Kat, who cut her off.

“Babe, I’m here for drinks, not to ask for advice. After all, _I’m the one_ who got the date.”

“Oh, It’s like _that_ is it?”

“I think I have a right for it to be like that after the stress I’ve been through trying to decipher this woman.”

“Well, from what you’ve said, you did plenty of deciphering each other on Friday,” Sutton said, wiggling her eyebrows vigorously.

“I’ve known you for years and I still don’t know how you do that so fast.”

“It’s a gift,” Sutton said, resting her chin on her fist.

“Sutton’s propensity for innuendo’s aside,” Jane said, moving into the living room at a snail’s pace as she carefully balanced the trio’s drinks on a platter, “I think it’s time we toast. To Kat.”

Kat and Sutton grabbed their drinks and raised them.

“To me!” Kat said with an infectious glee.

“For getting laid!”

“For,” Jane said, swatting Sutton and almost causing her to spill, “getting the girl.”

“That’s what I said.”

  


“No, but really, what are your plans? We all know you’re not the best with grand romantic gestures.” Sutton said, her head resting on Kat’s lap. Kat looked down at her frowning.

“Hey, I’m not…” Kat trailed off. Sutton raised an eyebrow. “Okay fine.” Kat tilted her head, playing with Sutton’s hair as she thought to herself. “We’re gonna do dinner at Ridolfi’s—”

“Ha! Knew it.”

“ _—then_ **,** I was gonna walk down to that park nearby? The one with the fountain thing?”

“Bryant?”

Katt screwed up her face in concentration. There was a moment of silence before she answered where she could hear Jane fumbling around in the kitchen cabinets.

“Does Bryant have a fountain…?”

“I thought it did...” Sutton said, turning to look up at Kat with squinted eyes.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Kat said, covering Sutton’s mouth with her hand, “we’re going to the park to walk around bc there is some music festival or something and it'll be _romantic as shit_ and then we’re gonna, you know, make out in front of the fountain and it’s gonna be awesome,” Kat said, trying to enunciate her words so that they didn’t all slur together.

“We’re out of M&Ms ladies,” Jane shouted, from the kitchen.

“Get your ass back here Tiny Jane, we miss you,” Kat shouted back.

“Awwww.”

Jane returned with bowls of ice cream that she handed to Kat and Sutton before cuddling up on Kat’s other side. Kat released her hand from Sutton’s mouth and Sutton sat up to grab her bowl.

“Well,” Sutton said, shoveling a spoon of ice cream into her mouth, “I, for one, wish you luck on your date with your brand new, _gorgeous_ girlfriend, and I eagerly await an update.”

“Thank you,” Kat mumbled out as she finished a mouthful of ice cream.

“You really seem to be on that ‘Adena is super hot’ train babe.” Jane quirked her head towards Sutton.

“What, are you saying you don't think she is?” Sutton said, turning her gaze to Jane.

“I mean obviously she’s beautiful, I'm just not saying it as much as you are. Or as loudly.”

Sutton opened her mouth to respond, pointing to the smaller woman with her forefinger, but she stopped short, closing her mouth and squinting in thought.

“I think... I might be... a little bit bi.”

  


* * *

 

 

The restaurant was cozy just like Kat remembered it. Their table was near enough to the kitchen that she could see them cooking but far enough away that it wasn’t noisy or hot. Kat spent her first ten minutes at the table looking at the entrées, despite having been to the restaurant a hundred times before.

“With how interested you are in that menu I’m expecting a good recommendation.”

Kat looked up and saw Adena standing beside the table, smirking down at her.

“Adena! Hey,” Kat stood up, pulling her into a hug. Adena squeezed her close before pulling away.

“I’ve been waiting for this all week, you’ve no idea,” Adena said as she sat down.

“What,” Kat raised an eyebrow, “an interview with an international magazine isn’t the highlight of your week?”

“Interviews are all the same after a while. There is, however, only one of you.” Adena said, eyes twinkling.

Kat rolled her eyes, but the blush growing in her cheeks betrayed her feelings.

“Really though, how was it? You’ve been on the search for this interview for months, you can’t tell me it wasn’t a _little_ exciting.”

Adena gave a sheepish smile and nodded.

“We met at the gallery and talked for a few hours. What it’s like to work in different countries and different social climates. I mentioned some helpful charities and some steps people can take to do some good but odds are that won’t make the final cut.” Adena sighed and picked up a menu. “I only hope the article will help some people.”

“Well,” Kat said as the waiter approached, “coming from you I don’t doubt it will.”

Adena smiled and rolled her eyes. The waiter approached and they ordered before continuing.

“I have enough people kissing up to me dear, I do not need my ego any more inflated than it already is.”

“What can I say?” Kat said, leaning in towards Adena, “It’s the truth.”

Adena squinted her eyes at Kat before meeting her halfway for a gentle kiss. Kat breathed in sharply as their lips connect and she felt her head go a little fuzzy at the sensation. It ended quickly but Kat could feel her cheeks getting warm.

“I don’t think that’ll ever get old.” Kat hummed.

“I certainly hope not,” Adena laughed, leaning in again, to give Kat another peck on the lips.

 

The festival was nearing its end by the time that they arrived. The band on stage seemed to be winding down their performance, leaving what remained of the crowd to mull about in search of something to do. Adena hooked her arm in Kat’s as they walked along through groups of people leaving.

Most of the vendors were closed or out of stock, but eventually Kat managed to bribe a churro saleswoman with a big tip. The two wandered through the park for a little less than twenty minutes before the musicians had all left and the attendees were following suit.

“Sorry, I thought we’d catch a little more than that…” Kat said solemnly

“Hey, don’t be,” Adena said, placing a gentle hand on Kat’s forearm, “it was worth a try.”

“Yeah, well…” Kat said, trailing off as a soft ringing caught her ear. She turned around to see a man standing on one of the concrete stages. He was older than the other performers she’d seen, his cheeks sunken and nose red. He wore a worn tweed jacket and a matching newsie cap, and in his hands he held a small, immaculate violin. A plastic case sat at his feet, but he had nothing else around him. His music rung out through the park, even as workers moved around him to pack up audio equipment.

Kat turned to Adena, whose eyebrows were raised. Without a word, the two walked over to the man’s stage and stood in front of him. The music was angelic; a slow, flowing melody that still managed to be joyful. Adena pulled Kat’s arm closer to her.

“This is beautiful...” Adena said in a whisper. Kat looked down at Adena, watching as she was enraptured by the music. There was something so incredibly earnest in her eyes, in the way that she devoured the music of this man who came to play after the audience had left. Kat felt her heart skip a beat.

Without thinking, Kat loosened her arm and stepped away from Adena, getting the woman’s attention.

“Would you care for a dance?” she said, extending her hand.

Adena looked at her with a laugh and a half smile. She looked around at the few workers still remaining.

“Dear, I can't dance for the life of me. I have a terrible habit of tripping over my own feet.”

“Well I can’t dance either, doesn’t mean it won’t be fun”

Adena opened her mouth to argue but stopped herself. She shrugged and took Kat's hand, letting the other woman pull her in. Kat put her hands on Adena’s waist and Adena put her hands around the back of Kat’s neck. Slowly, Kat began to sway along with the music, moving Adena to match her pace.

They moved a little more and laughed as their feet collided in the midst of their dance. Kat grabbed one of Adena’s hands and moved into a tango position, swaying with a little more purpose.

“I have no idea what I’m doing,” Kat said, a smile breaking out on her lips.

“I think we’re doing pretty okay,” Adena said as she failed to contain her grin.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I think we’re missing a couple spins though.”

“Oh, of course. We can fix that though — here we go…” Kat lifted her arm and tried to twirl Adena, but Adena’s foot caught on the back of her own heel. She waved her arms as she fell, grabbing on to Kat’s jacket to steady herself and get her footing back. After a moment of silence, they burst out in laughter and Adena buried her blushing face in Kat’s chest. Kat held her close as they decided to sway slowly for the rest of the song.

The final notes rang out and the two clapped. Kat put some money in his instrument case and the man bowed.

“Thank you much, ‘mam.”

“It’s nothing, you were amazing.”

“It was my pleasure. There’s nothing quite like playing for lovebirds in the park.” He winked and tipped his hat to them.

Kat turned to Adena and grabbed her hand with a little smile.

  
  


It was almost nine by the time they made it back to Adena’s apartment. Kat took off her boots and waited on the couch as Adena went to change into more comfortable clothes.

“So how'd I do? Did I earn a second date?”

“Well,” Adena said with a sarcastic drawl, “the churros were a little hard, but I _guess_ I could give you a second chance.”

Kat sighed and nodded. “They really were. Guess I’ll have to go even bigger next time.” Kat could hear rustling on the other side of the curtain, and the sound of hangers coming off a rack.

“It was wonderful dear, but we don’t have to go out whenever we spend time together.”

“Well, what did you have in mind?”

“Oh, you know. Something simple. Spending time together, just the two of us.”

“Like packing sex toys?” Kat asked with a smile. She could hear Adena laughing through the curtain.

“A bold example, though not an unfitting one. It’s not all about the big gestures.”

Kat nodded to herself. She had no doubt that Adena was the more experienced one in their relationship — Kat hadn’t been on a _date_ date in… years.

“Well,” Adena said, popping her head out from behind the curtain, “most of the time.” She beckoned to Kat and popped behind the curtain again. Kat raised her eyebrows and stood cautiously, pulling the curtain back to see into Adena’s room.

The area was dimly lit by candles placed around the room. The sheets on the bed were rolled back and a misshapen heart made of sheets laid on the center of the mattress. Adena sat at the end of the bed, leaning back in her silk robe.

Kat covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. Adena beamed at her.

“Do you like it?” Adena said with a coy smile, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s…” Kat said, trying hard to keep herself together. “It’s… a lot.” Kat finally managed to get out, unable to contain her laughter. Adena stood and sauntered over to her, her arms gliding up to Kat's shoulders.

“I would have gone for rose petals but that seemed like it’d be a mess to clean up,” Adena said, resting her forehead against Kat’s.

“Mmmm, wise choice,” Kat said with a smirk. “I _am_ gonna have to mark you down for that though.”

“Oh really?” Adena laughed, “this isn't working for you?”

Kat gave an exaggerated frown. “Okay, maybe it's working a _little bit_.”

“A little bit?” Adena said, fingers tracing the nape of Kat’s neck and making her head go fuzzy.

“Maybe…” Kat trailed off, her hands sneaking into the gap in Adena's robe and resting on the small of the woman's back. Adena craned her neck upwards and Kat met her halfway.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kat set down the last plate as a knock sounded at her door.

“Coming!” she said, bounding over to the door and opened it to a grinning Adena. “Hey babe.” Kat leaned in and quickly kissed her girlfriend on the lips before grabbing a couple takeout bags from her and helping set up at the table. “So how did the interview go with Alex?” Kat said, spooning a helping of rice onto her plate.

“It was wonderful! You were right, he was very charming.” Adena held out a box of chow mein and Kat took it, giving the rice to her girlfriend.

“Sorry that I couldn’t join you for lunch or anything. The interviews went longer than I thought they would.”

“It’s no trouble,” Adena said, waving away Kat’s apology. “How did they go?”

“They were good. At least I think so… it was a little strange being on the other side of the table. Asking about work experience and classes…” Kat frowned. “There was this one girl though, Angie. I reached out on twitter for people with experience on socials and she was, like, on top of it.”

Adena smirked and raised her eyebrows. “The next Kat Edison?” She teased and Kat rolled her eyes playfully and shrugged. Adena bit her lip, looking intently at Kat.

“What? Do I have rice on my cheek or something?” Kat said, not sure why she was staring.

“No,” Adena laughed, “no, it’s just...” Adena trailed off like she couldn’t find the words. “This lighting… you’re so beautiful, Kat.”

Kat’s cheeks were on fire and she wasn’t sure what to say.

“This might be a strange question, but… may I take your picture?” Adena asked hesitantly.

“Yeah,” Kat said in a small voice, smiling at her girlfriend. Adena smiled back and Kat nodded. Adena stood up from the table and backed away, watching Kat, before she turned to grab the camera from her bag. Kat stayed very still as Adena walked up and posed her camera. There was a soft click, and Adena moved to Kat to show her.

The picture had Kat at the table, spoon in her rice and takeout boxes in front of her. She was still smiling from Adena’s compliment, her cheeks big and round and her eyes closed. It was mundane but Adena was right, it was beautiful.

Kat snaked an arm around her girlfriend’s waist, pulling Adena onto her lap. Kat pressed her mouth against Adena’s shoulder, humming as she locked her hands around Adena’s stomach.

“It’s so good babe.”

“Well,” Adena said, a hand slipping over Kat’s, “I think I have you to thank for that. For inspiring me to take it.”

Kat’s heart fluttered at the thought — that Adena could find inspiration in her. She closed her eyes and kissed the exposed skin of Adena’s shoulder before resting her chin on it.

“You should post it. It’s probably the best photo of me in a while.” Kat laughed a little. Adena stiffened in her grip and took Kat’s hand.

“I’ve been meaning to talk about that, actually.” Adena stood and pulled a chair over. Her face was somber and Kat squeezed her hand, unsure who she was trying to comfort. “I was hoping that… we could keep from posting anything about us online.”

Adena saw confusion grow on Kat’s face and she quickly continued, “For a little while! I just… I like the anonymity. Everything with Coco was hard enough after we broke up and our… ‘fans’ only made it harder.” Adena sighed, an almost uncharacteristic melancholy in her eyes. “I’m not ashamed, least of all by you, I just… want to keep you to myself a little longer.”

Adena’s fans had proven rather dedicated. Kat was reminded of how fast ‘AdeKat’ accounts had sprung up, finding pictures of them and trying to figure out what they meant. People had begun taking photos of them together weeks before they admitted their feelings. Maybe it was wise to let things settle.

“I understand. We can take it slow, just like you said. Figure it out as we go along.”

Adena looked to her hopefully. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, of course.” Kat smiled, and her girlfriend sat back on her lap, bringing her in for a tight hug. “Although…” Kat said, causing Adena to pull away slightly, “I hope I’m allowed to tell Sutton and Jane, because, uh….”

Adena laughed. “I presume they’ve received the full briefing?”

“Yeah…” Kat said, scrunching her nose.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“What about Byron and the others? Do they know?”

“No, I haven’t gotten to see them since the last performance, we're all so busy. Yaz is performing next week though, and they _did_  ask if you’ll be attending.”

Kat grinned. “Sounds like a date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the beginning of the end folks! Two or three more chapters and we'll be all done! I have the storyline planned out, all that's left it hitting the keyboard.
> 
> I might do an epilogue though, I'm not sure rn.
> 
> @lighthousefeminism on tumblr


End file.
